The Things We Want
by Miss Ace Thank You
Summary: She was finally starting to change. He stopped telling her the truths that she didn't want to hear. But at what cost? When the world around them gets crazier than ever before, Jazmine and Huey must realize that time may be up. What will happen? Find out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Jazmine Dubois looked up at the pretty blue sky above her. It seemed different now, almost pointless. She knew full well that it wasn't normal for her not to care, but frankly, she was tired. Tired of giving a damn about everything. After all, what had niceness given her in return? Nothing but hurt and pain.

Her emerald eyes twinkled in the sunlight. Her long legs covered the green grass and her new, matured body was clad in a t-shirt and shorts. Her frizzy strawberry hair flowed in the wind. She was eighteen years old now, an adult. There was no use in crying, especially when you had already done so much of it. Her mother was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Everybody you know is going to die." She thought as she recalled his prophetic words.

It hurt even more thinking of it. He was right after all, but that didn't stop her from being angry. No, she wasn't sad, happy, or even excited anymore. She was downright pissed. No physical pain could hurt her now. She had been too naive, too trusting, and too loving. Now, she had to pay the price. She had to live with all of it. She didn't want to though, and she wasn't going to.

She had packed her suitcase. It was time to leave now; and she was ready. After all, wasn't this how things went? She was ready to leave all of it behind. She wasn't the same anymore. She was different now, and after graduating from J. Edgar High, this was just what she needed.

Then, she walked. She knew exactly where she was going, and even though she never admitted it aloud, she hoped he would be there.

He was.

"You're leaving." He stated softly, not looking at her.

"Yeah." She responded.

"Well, statistically…"

"DON'T YOU DARE FREEMAN!" she growled.

"You'll be fine, you know." He told her.

Jazmine looked down. She didn't want to hear this. At all.

"Yeah, it hurts. So what? Get over it. Grow up." He continued.

Jazmine's eyes never lifted from the ground.

"Because let's face it," he looked at her, "You aren't the first or the last kid to lose a parent."

That hit a nerve. She stared at her best friend in shock. This isn't how things were supposed to end up between them. Who was he supposed to be? How dare he demand that she grow up after her mother's death a mere two weeks ago. What did he want? She could not. No, she would not pretend that her mother, her best friend wasn't important to her. Jazmine didn't want to feel so, so empty; but it was hard. Smiles weren't even associated with her anymore.

"Do you hear me?" he said, his wine colored irises focusing on her.

Her green ones narrowed. He wanted her to grow up. That was just fine with her, but it was going to be on her terms. Jazmine Dubois was open to change now. The naïve personality she once claimed wholeheartedly needed to go, and she was finally ready to set it free.

"Yeah, I heard you. And you know what? I really don't give a fuck. What did you expect from me anyways? A smile, a peppy greeting, a giant hug?"

"You're overreacting" stated the shocked Freeman.

"I'm overreacting! No, I'm not! I'm just sick of you, my family, everybody, and anybody who tries to tell me how to feel!" She shouted.

It was Huey's turn to stand quietly now.

"All my life I've heard how stupid you think I am, how ignorant you think I am. Please," she scoffed, "If anything, you're the stupid one!"

His wine irises narrowed now, but Jazmine didn't care anymore. She kept on talking.

"You thought that I would never say anything back? You thought that I would just smile and bounce back? Well guess what, Huey? My mom isn't one of your blunt words that I can pretend aren't real. Because when I wake up in the morning, she's not going to be there, and unless you can bring her back, your words don't really mean much of anything to me."

"Jazmine…" He began.

"Consider the Jazmine you once knew dead. You wanted me to grow up, and you're finally going to get your wish. So be happy! This is what you've always wanted right?" she spat back.

"Not like this." He thought.

"Forget it. You can stand there if you want, but I'm going home." She spoke.

"When are you?" Huey began.

"Tomorrow, that's when I'm leaving, but I don't want to see you after today." Jazmine retorted, reading his mind.

And then she spun on her heel, already walking towards her own home. Her mind was spinning, she felt lost, and somehow, she felt alive. Her heart raced as she neared the door of her room. She knew what she needed now. Herself.

Her keys hit the dresser as she gravitated towards one particular photo. She and Huey one day at age ten. Jazmine had a smile pasted on her face; and Huey portrayed the usual- his infamous scowl. She almost ripped it, but something stopped her. Her heart wouldn't allow it, and she stuffed it into her pocket.

She walked downstairs to find her father. She wanted to give him one final kiss good night. Jazmine found him. Tom was passed out on the couch with two bottles of alcohol tucked safely in his arm. Somehow, Jazmine wasn't shocked. She just placed a blanket over his inebriated body, and gave him a kiss good night regardless.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow. Everything was finally going to change for the better. California was waiting for her, UCLA was expecting her, and she could barely wait. A place full of sunshine and happiness couldn't hurt anyone. Besides, it couldn't get worst. Could it?

She thought about all of these things as she trudged towards the bed. She looked out of the window one last time at Woodcrest, turned off the lamp, and drifted into her own little dreamland. And for the first time in a little while, she smiled happily as she touched the small photo in the back of her pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It was about four o'clock in the morning, and Jazmine Dubois was all ready to go. Her normally frizzy hair was straightened. Her green eyes sparkled under the fluorescent light of her room. This should have been one of the happiest days of her life, but it wasn't.

She walked across the hall to her parents' room. Her mother's picture was there along with a picture of a thirteen year old Jazmine and her mother smiling. A slight smirk formed on Jazmine's face as she looked at Tom in the background bawling about boys, sex, anal rape, losing his little girl, and well, anal rape. She could remember it as though it were yesterday instead of August 9, 2022.

_-March 5, 2017-_

_Thirteen. That meant a lot in Jazmine's book. It signified the beginning of being a teenager. No more baby junk, no more rules and no more unruly hair. It would be just like all of the movies, and she would meet the perfect guy and…_

"_I really hope that you aren't comparing your thirteenth birthday to those movies that are used to simply disintegrate the minds of adolescent youth everywhere, right?" said a familiar voice behind her._

_Jazmine rolled her eyes. Leave it to Huey to ruin yet another perfect moment of life. She wondered if he ever smiled. Why did he have to be so angry all the time? Better yet, why did he have to be so Huey?_

"_Because things can always change Jazmine" Huey spoke._

"_What?" asked a confused Jazmine._

"_Even you barely listen to me!" Huey exclaimed, frustrated._

"_I do to!" Jazmine fussed back, "Just not this time."_

"_Yeah," He snorted, "Typical."_

_He was actually sort of cute to Jazmine when he was upset. The way his eyes seemed to focus even more, the way his muscles tensed. The way his lips perched, begging to be kissed. Wait, since when did Jazmine decide to think about him this way? She chose to ignore it. She just wanted to enjoy this moment with Huey on their hill. Their special meeting place that she loved. _

"_So, are you coming to my party, Huey?" Jazmine had chirped._

"_Probably not," He responded nonchalantly, "Besides, what's the point in celebrating for a day that brings you closer to death? A day that resembles the beginning of hard labor, tears, sweat, and blood. And for what? A lousy spot in the dirt fertilizing the flora of the earth? A few measly pages in a history book? Forget it! I am not the type of person to celebrate THAT. There are more important things that a revolutionary like me has to be concerned with."_

"_Like what?" asked Jazmine_

"_How about the fact that the Congress signs new laws everyday slowly restricting the freedom of speech and religious rights of the United States citizens? Or how about the fact that television shows are conspiracy acts hired by the government? Or the fact that the officials elected in office are firm believers in dictatorship? Or how about.."_

"_Alright, I get it," She huffed, "You don't want to come to the party."_

_She turned to walk away, and she tried to hold back the itchy, wet substance erupting from her eyes. However, it was impossible for Jazmine Dubois to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Huey noticed what was happening and tried to console her, but it wouldn't work now. It was clearly too late._

"_WHHHHHHYYYYY CAAAAAN"T YOUUU JUUUUSSST COOOMMMME TOOO THHHEE PAAAAARRTTTTYYY?" she'd wailed._

"_JAZMINE! Cut it out!" he demanded._

"_HUUUUEEEEYY ISNNN'T MY BEEESSSST FRRRIIIEEENNNDDD!" she sobbed._

"_Fine! I'll go! But don't expect any special treatment or anything." He began._

"_THAAANK YOU HUUUEY!" said Jazmine._

_She trapped him with a bear hug then. He, in turn, surprisingly hugged her back as he placed both arms around her waist. Jazmine paused for a moment but went with the moment. A slight blush crept across her face as she squealed with joy on the inside. _

"_Jazmine?" Huey cleared his throat._

"_Yeah, Huey?" she answered back._

"_Could you please let go now?" he replied_

"_Oh yeah" she answered._

_She set him free from her tight grasp, and smiled, taking his hand in hers. He looked down for a moment, glaring but said nothing more. Jazmine smiled. This was the greatest birthday ever. They walked away from the park hand in hand, and out of the corner of those emerald eyes, she could have sworn that a real, genuine smile was forming on his lips._

_End of Flashback._

Jazmine sighed again. She picked up the photo and touched it. The years seemed to pass by so quickly. She wished she could be thirteen again. Hell, she wished she could be any other age but this. Too bad she couldn't get what she wanted this time. Her childhood was over, and she grabbed her suitcase, her purse, her shades, and glanced at her vehicle. She made sure her GPS was inside before driving to one final destination in Woodcrest, Cindy McPhearson's.

* * *

She pulled up and knocked on the door. It took Cindy a while to answer the door, and Jazmine knew that Riley and Cindy were probably at it for the thousandth time. That's when Cindy opened the door greeting her with a flushed face and a wild head. Jazmine just shook her head and forced a smile.

Cindy took one final look at her best friend. She shuddered without thought. It hurt a lot to see her first best friend leave her for bigger and better things. They were almost like sisters. Of course, their hair was different, they came from different lifestyles, and they had two totally different personalities. None of that mattered. They had seen each other through everything. First heartbreaks, loves, and phases came and went throughout their lives, but one thing never ever seemed to change, their friendship.

Cindy could never ever find a better friend than Jazzy. Nobody would ever come to every game and cheer for her, encourage her when nobody else would, and love her without judgment, not even her own parents. That's why she cried in spite of all the tears that she was trying so very hard to swallow. She loved this girl through it all. She wasn't almost her sister; she was her sister. Cindy hugged Jazmine tightly and never really wanted to let go if that meant she may never return.

Jazmine thought of everything they had been together too. The first time that Cindy taught her to sneak out. The way she had told her to "gangsta up" and stop being a bitch. Jazmine remembered their first argument, their laughter, and their wildest times. Of course, they didn't always get along but that was really okay with her. She had never found a friend like Cindy, and she had a feeling that she never would.

Finally letting go, the two girls smiled at one another.

"So I guess you gotta go to that bitch ass California huh?" asked Cindy.

"Bitch ass? Riley has really worn off on you." retorted Jazmine, knowing that wasn't necessarily the case.

"I didn't stutter did I?" snapped Cindy

"Whatever," replied Jazmine, "I'm really gonna' miss you. You know that right?"

Cindy's eyes softened again, "I know."

The two embraced again, crying their eyes out. Suddenly a loud bang was heard from the front door. The girls turned around and saw a young man with braids down his back with wine colored eyes, smirking slightly.

"AY! WHATCHU' DOIN ALL THAT CRYING FO'?" yelled Riley "ION GONE MISS JAZMINE."

"Yeah, right" said a skeptical Jazmine

"Well, it's true!" he exclaimed

"Well, I've really got to go now Mcfearsome" teased Jazmine one last time.

"Yeah, Miss Bad Hair Day, I suppose you do" replied Cindy.

"AY! I'M STANDING HERE YA' KNOW!" yelled Riley.

"You too Escobar" Jazmine chuckled.

They stood their awkwardly for a moment. Nobody moved or broke the silence. Until finally, Jazmine hugged Cindy one last time, threatened Riley about taking care of Cindy only to hear a jumble of "I GOTS DIS YO!", and put the keys in her ignition. It was six o'clock; Jazmine was right on schedule. She was off and out. California was waiting, and she was on her way.

* * *

Huey Freeman woke up at about nine in the morning. He looked towards Jazmine's house and wondered what had come over her yesterday. He waved it away as nothing. It was extremely normal for Jazmine to blow everything out of proportion. He just knew that when he went by her house she would be there waiting for him to say goodbye. She always did. She always had.

That's why he took his time. He ate his bran flakes and worked out, and he even took a shower and got dressed before walking out of the door. He wasn't used to this, saying goodbye. How in the world was he supposed to now? He hadn't even liked Jazmine at first. She got on his nerves.

He used to hate the way she trusted everybody, loved them with no problems. And even more, he despised the way that they just loved her back. Sometimes, he wished that somebody would hurt her just once. He desperately desired a person to just crush her spirits so that she could see everybody wasn't as trustworthy as she thought. He knew it was wrong. His guilt showed him that every time he thought these horrible things, but he kept on.

Nevertheless, Jazmine remained the same. Of course, she matured quite a bit and grew out of her annoying personalities. However, that bubbly, naïve personality still existed. She always stuck by people's side even if they were wrong.

He knew full well that he would miss her. He had grown accustomed to her. He thought she was annoying, no doubt, but that didn't mean he could just let her leave without saying goodbye. They had grown up together. He could still remember the day they met. He could still remember the way that she listened. He even remembered how pretty he thought she was despite her lack of African pride.

That's why he was surprised when he noticed that Jazmine's car wasn't in the driveway. She couldn't have left already. It was impossible. It had to be impossible. He managed to keep his infamous scowl on his facial features as he knocked on her door. Tom opened it. He looked tired, dead, broken. He didn't wear the face of a bitch anymore. He wore the face of a broken man who was tired of caring. He looked so sad and angry. He even looked, much to Huey's surprise, annoyed.

"What, Huey?" he said in monotone voice.

"Where's Jazmine? She hasn't...left yet has she?" Huey answered.

"She has, and I'm sure she probably dropped by to see you or something" responded

"No, she hasn't." Huey said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Well, I heard her when she got up, so I'm sure she's just fine." Replied with a weak smile

"Whatever." replied Huey, "I don't care."

With that, he walked back across the street and walked down to the hill. Nobody was there. He kept walking. No Jazmine anywhere. He pondered if what was really telling the truth or not. He already knew the answer. And he already knew something else, he did care if Jazmine was okay or not. He honestly cared about her. So why did it take the day she left for him to realize it?

Back at Cindy's place, things were finally getting heated. Again. Riley had Cindy halfway naked, and Riley was already in his birthday suit. Cindy needed comfort and there he was. Riley was always there when she needed him. That's why she was grateful for his touch, for the sweet warm love that they were making. Well, the love that they were about to make anyways. The goddamn doorbell was ringing again.

Cindy was furious. She definitely did not want to stop, and she wasn't going to. She was going to get what she craved right now, and nobody was going to cease her. Apparently, Riley felt the same way, because he tugged at the zippers on her pants while pulling her into a passionate kiss as she arched her back into his. The damned thing rang again. What was this? Who dared ring the doorbell after clearly being ignored? Maybe if they just kept going…

"RILEY! CINDY!" rang a familiar voice

"AW HEEEELLL NAAAAWW" yelled out Riley as he went to open the door for his elder brother.

Huey was at the door, seething angrily. Even Riley kept his mouth shut as his brother ranted, and by the time Cindy had gotten down the stairs to yell at him about his rudeness, he started up again. Once Huey finished, Cindy and Riley looked at each other in shock and started laughing.

"Wait a minute," howled Riley, "So yo' bitch ass wanna get mad at ha fo leavin without sayin goodbye to yo ass?"

"I know right," agreed Cindy, "You've been dogging that girl out since the day she moved here!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" he counter argued.

"IT IS NIGGA! What I don't get is why you gotta' be gay and ruin my moment between me and mah girl,huh?" said Riley, still in hysterics, "You can't do that just cuz you mad and depressed mane!"

"Yeah, I mean we all miss Jazmine, but she's gone," shrugged Cindy, "And if she didn't say bye to you and you're mad, that's your problem. Fix it."

"Whatever, I don't know even know why I came to you guys for your help anyways. Judging from the scene, it looks like you two are statistical parents in the making." Huey sighed.

"Don't be a player hate Huey!" said Riley as he led a blushing blonde up the stairs, "But uhhh, lock that door when you leave cuz we gon be busy!"

Huey slammed the door just in time. He drove home in silence. It was actually serene without Jazmine pestering him and Riley not doing something entirely ignorant. He got almost everything he ever wanted with life. Yet at this moment, none of that even mattered. Wasn't that shitty?

"Yeah, it is pretty shitty," A voice agreed.

Huey flew into a fighting stance as his eyes dashed across the room. He flew from one corner of the house waiting for somebody to hit him. He wanted a test dummy to take his anger out on. This was annoying and childish. He didn't have time for games.

"And neither do I Huey," ,The stupid voice spoke again, "So why don't you sit down and listen to what I have to say."

Huey thought about this for a moment. A random voice was talking to him in HIS house. HE was alone, and he could probably claim self defense. On the other hand, many government agencies had observed him for quite a while now. There was no guarantee that he wouldn't end up in jail just for the hell of it.

"We have been watching you for quite a while now, and we tried to wait until it was more convenient for you" began the voice.

Huey snorted. He knew that whoever this was had been watching him.

"However, there isn't much time left. If we don't act now, many citizens could become futile casualties." It continued.

"And what is so horrible in the world that random voices decide to speak to me in my house like they own it?" questioned Huey

"You watch the news, Huey. Ever since President Tailor took office things have gone haywire. You watch the news enough to know that they've been lying about numerous operations for a long time. Remember how you told Jazmine once that the members of Congress believed in dictatorship? They are ready to act on it. Soon. And that's worst than any voice in your house. Trust me." The voice spoke.

Huey couldn't really argue with that. Ever since nine eleven things hadn't been right with the nation. Sure, he'd always told everybody else the truth, but hearing it yourself was different. It was a hard decision to make. What about all the changes he would have to make? His suffering? Then he realized his own prophetic words. Success wasn't always easy.

In the end, he would have to make a choice. He would have to discern between his comfort and his dreams of being a revolutionary. It didn't matter how brave and uncaring he appeared on the outside. He was still very human. That's why he didn't want to make this choice. He didn't want to choose between millions and millions of deaths compared to his one.

Huey Freeman, the great revolutionary, answered anyway.

"How long do we have?"

The man in the black suit appeared, and Huey was very shocked to discover that it wasn't White Shadow. He was black and tall. His shades reflected even though it was clearly dark outside. Huey regained his composure and lifted his eyebrow.

"And you are?" he said.

"R.H.F" he responded.

"That's it?" scoffed Huey.

"Yes, it is," said the man mocking Huey's tone of voice, "But you could just call me R.H for short."

"Whatever. How long?" asked Huey again.

"One year." R.H responded.

"One year? But that's not long enough to prepare for this!" Huey exclaimed.

"Well then, we should be happy that you've waited for this all of your life shouldn't we?" R.H responded nonchalantly.

Huey turned back to retort, but the man was already gone. Huey glanced out of the window and saw the man tip his sunglasses at him and walk away into the night. Huey plopped down onto his bed and checked his phone. No missed calls. He set it back down and looked at the ceiling. One whole year to prepare.

With that in his mind, Huey kept on thinking his way through the hours of the night. He wondered how Jazmine was doing. He thought about the possibilities of Cindy and Riley actually getting married. He thought about everybody he ever truly cared about. He wondered why R.H seemed so familiar to him, and tomorrow, he planned on calling Michael Caesar and getting "I told you so" engraved on his tombstone.

* * *

REVIEW! And I might just upload another chapter if it's cool with you guys!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

She was finally here. Jazmine already loved Los Angeles. The sunshine illuminated her hair, and the blue sky felt brighter than it did in Woodcrest. Everything here seemed surreal to her. This was clearly where she belonged.

Taking a deep breath, Jazmine stepped out of the car to behold her new home, the campus of UCLA. She gasped. It was even more beautiful now with all of the flowers in bloom and all of the students actually there. She stood there for a minute to absorb it all.

Suddenly, she heard a whistle near her. It was a young man in a dashiki who appeared quite hot in the smothering bright fabric. He was tall with glasses, a giant head wrap, and a few dreads sticking out or at least it was hair as far as Jazmine could tell. He appeared to be speaking words of some kind. However, he was too far away for her to really hear what he was saying; and judging from his sandals that complimented the rest of his appearance, it would be safe to keep it that way.

"Excuse me young beauty," the young man began.

Jazmine blinked, obviously mortified.

"But you are perfect, worth it, all, a trip to the mall, worth any man's…" he continued.

"Duey!" rang out a smooth velvet voice, "What did I say about harassing these girls like that?"

"This isn't harassment, this is purely an advancement, an investment if you will.." Duey recited.

However, Jazmine wasn't really preoccupied with him at that moment. She glanced at the owner of the velvet voice. He wasn't cute at all; that adjective didn't fit a man of his stature. His muscles, fresh hair cut, and gorgeous brown eyes screamed sexy all over. He wore a jacket with a white t-shirt and jeans. She liked him already.

"I'm sorry about my friend, miss," apologized the boy, "But you can't blame him. You are gorgeous!"

"It's really not a problem," Gushed Jazmine, blushing.

"Good to know," he replied, "My name is Cairo. Born and raised in Chicago, and that is my best friend, Duey."

"Well, my name is Jazmine, but all of my friends stayed back in my hometown." She replied.

"Well then, Jazmine, I think that we should have dinner or lunch sometime. If that's okay with you of course," Cairo replied with a heart wrenching smile.

"I think that would be nice," Jazmine replied in an attempt to find her voice.

"Us three, happily, eating," Duey replied.

"Uh, sorry Duey, just me and Jazmine," responded Cairo.

"Well then," responded Duey, "I'd better get to my dorm then."

"Yeah, me too", piped up Jazmine, "I do have to get settled in."

"Wait!" Cairo exclaimed, "I don't have your number."

Jazmine quickly took out a sheet of paper, wrote down her number, and handed it to Cairo. She walked away happily towards her dorm. She couldn't wait to tell her mom about this.

Too bad she was dead. The mulatto girl held her head down as her feet trudged onward. She held her arms close to her waist. She attempted to give herself a reality check. She couldn't be depressed anymore. Her mom didn't like it when she was sad.

Then again, she didn't like it when her mom was dead. After all if her own mother couldn't stay alive for her, then the least Jazmine could do was let it all out right. If her mother couldn't be alive for her, why should she be happy for her? It wasn't fair, not at all.

On the other hand, Jazmine did have to admit that it was a bit silly to be angry with a woman who couldn't control her own death. Jazmine's mom had fought to survive after the accident for a long time. She had just gotten out of the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor claimed that she was on her way to a full recovery. Now, she was dead, and Jazmine knew deep down that it was all her fault too. She was technically liable for her mother's death.

So she was going to suck up these tears and live her life happily. Jazmine was going to pass all of her classes and do everything that she would hardly ever do. She wouldn't live life for Jazmine anymore. She would live it for her mother, Sarah. She wasn't going to cry either, or at least, that's what she told herself.

The single tear falling down her red cheeks proved otherwise.

Jazmine wiped it away and walked towards the registration line. It was filled with all types of people. You had geeks with gigantic glasses and the preppy girls applying a little lip-gloss. You even had a few rebels in the crowd with combat boots and observant eyes. The green grass on the campus stood up attentively, almost like it was listening. Even the trees seemed to lean towards the students in a secretive, hushed manner. They waved towards the school.

As pretty as all of this was, Jazmine wanted to get her picture taken for her id and take her dorm key. It was hot outside, and one drop of sweat could completely ruin her straight hair. The hot pavement was starting to give her shoes their own unnecessary heater. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, sighing loudly.

"NEXT" an RA yelled.

Jazmine walked up. She received her room key to the dorm in Hedrick Hall. Apparently, she had signed up for co-ed dorms. Just her luck. She walked towards the room and knocked. Nobody was there. She sighed. Then, as she finally convinced herself that nobody was around, she permitted the sadness to erupt and cried. She let it all out, and when she let it all out, she felt a little bit better. That was good, right?

* * *

Huey Freeman was training again. He flew towards the tree and flipped over it. His katana glistened against the sun. He felt sore and tired for once, but those feelings would pass eventually. He thought of Jazmine again as his fist struck the bark. He waved her away for the time being. He had to train harder.

"You really do," said a voice.

Huey didn't even turn around. He already knew exactly who was standing behind him, and he really didn't appreciate it. It was getting really old, really quick. He wanted this man gone. Did his mother even teach him manners?

"My mother taught me the same manners she taught you," retorted R.H.

"What are you doing here," growled Huey.

"You need to train harder" R.H spoke quietly but firmly as everything on the hill got still.

Train harder? Huey couldn't believe what he was hearing. Didn't this guy see him sweating his ass off? He was sore, tired, and working like a slave. Revolutionary or not, it was at least one hundred degrees cooking his already dark skin. This dude had lost his mind.

"Harder? I've been wearing myself out." Shot back Huey.

"Exactly," he said, "You haven't thought of one strategy, one tactic, or one plot for the enemy other than kicking in his face. Now, Huey, you know you have to come harder than that."

"Who is the exact enemy anyways?" quizzed Huey.

"That much will be revealed later," responded R.H

"I don't need you." Fussed Huey, "I've been doing this alone for ages."

Suddenly, before Huey could even react to the situation, a shiny leather dress shoe came into contact with his chest and cause him to fly back. Coordinated blows continued to fly towards him. He landed against the tree. Two hands held him down forcefully. Two metal things pressed against his wrists. They were cold, hard, and foreign. He heard a clicking sound as he realized what was happening. He was being arrested. Huey's eyes widened.

He was getting beat down by some random dude. He was about to go to jail for god knows what, and he was just going to sit there and take it? He didn't think so! He delivered a round house kick towards his opponent only to see him rise into the air and deliver a much stronger one back. Huey pushed himself back up and clenched his fist. He grabbed his katana and charged towards the man. The katana lifted from his hands; and Huey was pushed back into the tree. This time it was even harder for him to escape. He struggled under the man's grasp.

R.H chuckled as he held Huey down mercilessly. Huey was stronger than he thought. He clearly had the momentum, the potential. He just needed the actual skills. But that would be rectified starting today. All those fancy kicks and spins meant nothing to him. He was going to learn that soon enough though. He wasn't like all of Huey's other opponents. He actually knew how to fight and win.

Huey just kept on struggling, staring at R.H. with little emotion on his face. His eyes widened when R.H. picked up the katana and pointed it towards him. His heart beat sped up. He really hoped Caeasar had gotten that message after all because it looked like he was going to die today. The infamous revolutionary, Huey Freeman, killed by Mr. Man in Black sounded like a future headline to him.

R.H picked up the katana and threw it towards Huey before he could move out of the way. It landed right next to Huey's head. Huey was shocked as he stared at his smoking katana and the fiery tree. Where in the world did R.H learn how to do that?

R.H nodded. He had Huey's full attention now. He was ready to get this show on the road. They may not have as much time as they previously thought, but Huey could handle it. For his sake, the world's sake, he hoped so.

"So I'm your new trainer" began R.H, "And quite frankly, that really sucked Huey, I'm very disappointed in you."

"It was luck." Huey hissed.

"No, that was an ass-whooping brought to you by a forty year old man," R.H chuckled.

"Some trainer you are," snorted Huey.

"Well, let's begin shall we?" R.H smiled.

"Whatever," Grumbled Huey.

R.H took out the keys and unlocked the handcuffs bounding Huey's hands together. He motioned for Huey to come forth. Huey started with a fancy charge. He picked up momentum and kept on coming towards R.H.

He hadn't learned yet. R.H. simply yawned and stuck out his large fist and let Huey come into contact with it. They had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Jazmine woke up to a figure above the bed. She shrieked loudly in fear as the light came on.

"Whoops, sorry about scaring you. Hi, I'm Cairo. You must be my…" Cairo began.

He stopped and chuckled. Jazmine had to chuckle too. They had just seen each other a few hours ago. She felt like dancing, that is, until she looked in the mirror. Her hair had reverted back to its special puffy form. Her eyes were red and her nose was too. Crap.

"Are you okay?" he said softly "You look like you've been crying pretty lady."

Jazmine shook her head yes.

"Well, I'm no genius or anything, but I am pretty sure that something is wrong with you," said Cairo with that gorgeous smile, "So just tell me what's wrong."

Jazmine shook her head no.

"It's nothing," she responded.

"Really?" he smirked, "So why are you all red?"

"Because I'm hot," she answered in a squeaky voice.

"Well, I mean other than the fact that you are irrevocably sexy, what's wrong?" he said smoothly, "You can tell me. I'm a great listener. I promise you that I won't judge you for anything, Jazmine. Trust me."

She thought about it and sighed. His brown eyes stared into her green ones with concern. She figured that he was telling the truth, so she opened up to him rather quickly.

"I killed my mom," she whispered, looking back at him to see what he would say.

Cairo only nodded and let her continue.

"It was about a month ago from today…"

_July 8, 2022_

_Jazmine Dubois smiled. Today was the day that she and Cindy had awaited their whole lives. The dance that every recent graduate of High attended every year was finally there. She put on her purple dress and straightened out her hair. She even put on her eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara. She looked sexy if she had to say so herself._

_She had walked down the stairs with her keys, heading towards the door. Her mother, Sarah Dubois, stopped her._

"_Where are you going, honey?" Sarah teased, raising an eyebrow._

"_To the Bash of the 2022 Graduates, Mom!" squealed an excited Jazmine._

"_Jazmine," her mother began._

_Uh-oh. That never turned out well._

"_Mom, are you really going to tell me that I can't go to this party?" she'd asked._

"_I've heard awful things about this party, Jaz. I can't let you get hurt." Sarah responded._

"_Mom, please." Jazmine begged, "It's safe, and I'll be careful. Don't you trust me?"_

"_Jazmine, if it were as simple as only trusting you, I would let you go. This involves trusting other people with you. Other random people who don't see things the way you do." Sarah responded._

"_So what you're saying is that I can't go because people are more diverse than I am?" shrieked an angry Jazmine._

"_Jazmine, you are not going to that party." Sarah shot back._

"_I am eighteen years old," responded Jazmine, "I can do what I want."_

"_You will not go to that party while you are under this roof," Sarah said with a final tone, "Feel free to shout that to the heavens."_

"_I HATE YOU!" Jazmine shrieked loudly. She turned towards the stairs, stomped to her room, and slammed the door._

_Jazmine instinctively dialed Cindy's number. _

"_AY JAZZY! I'M ON THE WAY!" yelled Cindy through the speaker phone._

"_Cindy, my mom said that I couldn't go." Jazmine seethed through the phone._

"_Pfft. Shit, fuck that! Girl, you almost grown. You better come through that window like I taught you, so we can go to this god damn party!" shot Cindy._

"_But Cindy, I really think my mom has a genuine reason for me not going," Jazmine said._

"_Mane, there you go with that punk ass shit again. Are you bringing your ass or not?" replied Cindy_

"_Fine," grumbled Jazmine, "You know what to do."_

_Jazmine had climbed through out of her window and slid down the tree onto the pillow she tossed down. She grabbed her heels that she threw down and smiled. She was going to the party after all. She had locked her door and placed a wig on her pillow. It turned out that everything would go according to plan after all. Jazmine walked down the street towards Cindy's silver Lexus, one of her many cars. She knocked on the window as Cindy let her in._

_Jazmine smiled. This was definitely a great idea. Cindy's radio was blasting Willow Smith's new hit single. They were both excited. _

_Cindy wore a beautiful blue dress that clung to her like a second skin. Her hair was curled up and hung down. Brown eyeliner allowed her blue eyes to steal the show, and her blue eye shadow complimented it. Her long legs were toned from all of the basketball playing, and her feet were garnisheed in beautiful heels. Cindy glowed with confidence._

"_Cindy you look good!" Jazmine admitted._

"_I should say the same thing for you Mrs. Dubois." Cindy beamed._

"_So let's go then!" Jazmine happily sang. _

_Jazmine smiled as Cindy eagerly obliged and they sped off towards the party._

_It was packed. Almost every new alumni of J. Edgar was lights from the strobes flashed as the DJ mixed the beats. Alcohol intoxicated the air. Dancing inhabited the floor, and everybody was having an amazing time. Jazmine and Cindy had split up an hour ago, and she was dancing with the finest dude in the school, Kevin Bryce. He was smiling at her the way she had always wanted him to. _

"_You look great, Jazmine." He grinned._

"_You too," She said softly, not believing this was real._

"_Come with me," he winked._

_She did. They were outside as the music blared loudly. The stars seemed perfect, twinkling just for them. The fireflies lit up happily, and the wind softly flew around them. She loved this feeling. It was just right. They spent about an hour just talking, and then, it happened._

_Kevin slowly leaned in and she leaned forward as their lips met. It was soft and sweet and gentle. Well, that's how it was at first. Then, he started rubbing his hands everywhere. He tugged at the zipper of her dress. Then, he pushed her against the wall roughly._

"_Kevin stop!" cried out Jazmine._

"_Isn't this what you wanted?" Kevin bit his lip as if confused," You came out here didn't you?"_

"_Not this, Kevin!" Jazmine yelled, backing away from the wall._

_Kevin grabbed her arm roughly. He attempted to push Jazmine back on the wall. She kicked him in his most sensitive area. He yelped._

"_BITCH!" he spat as he stormed off angrily._

_She speedily walked back to go find Cindy. She saw her blonde hair out of the whole crowd. She could have sworn that her dress was blue, but since she was drunk, there was really no telling. _

"_Cindy," she remembered slurring"Let's go! I think my Mom was right. This party is getting out of hand"_

_She gestured to the crowd. They were too busy breaking things to notice her. Jazmine could even see a gun in at least twenty people's pockets._

"_CINDY!" she shrieked, "What is with you!"_

_She spun her around and found herself face to face with a fuming Sarah Dubois."_

"_MOM?" shrieked Jazmine. That wig trick hadn't worked after all._

"_Are you drunk?" Sarah asked._

"_No," Jazmine slurred, "All I had to drink was punch."_

"_Let's go." Sarah said, grabbing Jazmine's arm._

"_I don't need your help," Jazmine had slurred._

"_What?" Sarah spoke sharply_

"_I. Don't. Need. You. I. Am. Not. Ten." Jazmine slurred louder with each word._

"_JUST GET YOUR ASS IN THE CAR, JAZMINE" Sarah yelled._

"_Fine then!" Jazmine yelled crossing the street in a wobble, "I'll just be ten years old forever!"_

_Sarah gasped. An eighteen wheeler was headed right towards Jazmine's drunken body._

"_JAZMINE!" yelled Sarah_

"_I'm walking, Mom" Jazmine shrieked back._

_Sarah had made her decision. She ran towards Jazmine and pushed her tiny body out of the way. _

"_What the hell was that for?" Jazmine retorted to the shove just in time to see a giant eighteen wheeler hit her mother._

_Jazmine screamed for help. The crowd stood silently, not knowing what to do. This was scary. Real. They didn't want to be arrested, so they slowly dwindled as they went home. Cindy had called the ambulance and held Jazmine as she cried into her shoulders. _

_The ambulance had immediately responded to Cindy's call. Sarah was in critical condition and Jazmine knew that no amount of "I'm sorry Mom's" could make up for this. _

_She felt horrible as her mother's bloody body was lifted into the stretcher. Her father touched her shoulder. He wasn't angry with her. Jazmine could see that, but he was definitely disappointed. They walked in the emergency room together, knowing that nothing would ever be the same._

_(End of Flashback)_

"And that's what happened", Jazmine sobbed, "She died two weeks later after being released from the ICU, and it's my entire fault!"

"Jazmine, did you push your mom in front of that truck?" Cairo asked.

"No, but I"

"Did you want to kill her? Did you wish for her death?" Cairo continued.

"No," whispered Jazmine.

"Then, it isn't your fault Jazmine," replied Cairo, "It was just bad timing."

"Bad timing?" Jazmine repeated.

"Yes," Cairo replied, "So don't cry. I know how bad it hurts, but crying only gets you so far. I'm pretty sure your mom forgave you a while back ago. She wanted you alive so she pushed you out of the way. She would want you to be happy. She would want you to forgive yourself, Jazmine."

"Thanks." Jazmine sniffled.

"No problem, rooms." Cairo winked back.

"Wait," Jazmine called out, "Can you just stay here please?"

"Yeah, of course," Cairo said, "I'm not going anywhere."

He reached towards her and pulled her close. Cairo meant what he said. He wasn't going anywhere. This girl was special to him. She was different from most women that he had met. She kind of reminded him of somebody from his childhood. The way she hid her feelings reminded him of somebody. He just couldn't remember who it was. Maybe he would figure it out later. Right now, he just wanted some sleep and the key to the heart of the lady in his arms.

* * *

SO..that's Chapter Three! To my anonymous reviewer, I never heard of the Boys before you mentioned them, but I looked them up, and I liked them. Also, thanks for reviewing.

As for the REST of you, I am very disappointed folks. One little review from you is all I ask! So plllleeeaaassseeee review?

That 'tis all!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It had been four months. She had been here for four months; and after all of the months that she'd left home, she didn't want to leave. It was so much easier to pretend here. It was easier to believe that maybe she could be happy again. Loving or at least pretending to love somebody was easier too.

Jazmine and Cairo had been going strong for about three months. They had started off as friends, sure enough, but Jazmine couldn't really resist his charm. He was funny, smart, and gorgeous. It was hard not to give into his request to be with her. She was just so attracted to him.

She knew she was wrong deep down. He loved her. Cairo loved her, and she knew it was deep. He would whisper it to her over and over again. His eyes shouted it the most. They looked at her with pure adoration and trust. Too bad she didn't deserve it. Any of it.

Yes, she enjoyed their chaste kisses and the fact that she could she tell him anything. She relished the feeling of her lips against her neck. She loved it when he would whisper sweet nothings into her hair. She smiled whenever they cuddled. There was only one problem.

It wasn't love.

She knew what love was. She had known it deep down at the tender age of ten, and she had probably messed it all up. Of course, you couldn't mess up a love that wasn't mutual in the first place, Jazmine thought. She digressed. She may have been attracted to Cairo, but she knew the difference between love and lust.

Love was the ability to stand beside somebody nobody how many times they may have hurt you. Love was the fact that you knew somebody more than they knew themselves, yet you couldn't really figure out every single part of the. Love was something that made your heart just scream for that one special person. It was something that she couldn't even describe sometimes.

She loved Huey, and it wasn't fair. Huey always treated her like shit. He always told her the truth, sure, but that was pretty much where it ended. Plus, he was always talking about her afro and making fun of it. Once she tried to get him to say something nice about it, and he talked about how pretty and puffy the clouds were. What was that? She didn't want to love him, but her heart refused to buy that signal from her brain. It kept placing Huey in her memory at the most inconvenient times- especially around Cairo.

She kissed Cairo and imagined it was Huey instead. She snuggled into Cairo, looked up, and beheld a giant imaginary afro. And once, when things got really heated, she almost called him Huey. Luckily, Cairo hadn't noticed. She wondered if he ever would.

She had kissed Huey once. It was a couple of years back on her birthday. It was on a very large hill in Woodcrest. Jazmine sighed as she thought back to the day where they kissed. It seemed so long ago.

_March 5, 2020_

_Midnight_

_She was finally there. Sixteen years old. She felt a little different. She didn't feel excited either. Honestly, coming out here in the middle of the night was kind of a silly idea even though it was really pretty._

_The grass flowed with that gentle kind of wind. The moon was full. The trees swayed back and forth _as_ the crickets chirped in a low hum. The stars exploded in this area since there weren't any lights, and it was kind of cool._

_Jazmine hugged the jacket over her arms closer to her. She thought about all of the events that had happened over the past three years. Huey had been right again. Those stupid movies forget to mention that while everybody is transforming for the next two hours on a movie real girls get junk like periods, stress, and acne. They also failed to mention that, typically, everybody kind of wants that well liked title known as popularity in high school, so you may not always get it._

_Besides everything about this was, well, overrated. Wow, maybe Huey really was leaving traces of him with her after all. She never tended to just think. Ever._

_Footsteps suddenly came behind her. Jazmine froze. She tried to remember everything that Huey ever taught her, but that was silly. She was frozen._

_She chose her next best option: scream and kick. Her attacker simply covered her mouth._

"_Jazmine," Huey said calmly, "What do you think you're doing?"_

"_Huey, that's not funny! I really thought I was going to die!" replied Jazmine spinning around to face him._

"_Jazmine, I really don't know what you're talking about." Huey replied._

"_Huey! Really! It's not funny!" Jazmine exclaimed. She was getting nervous now, fidgeting._

"_Jazmine! Get a grip! Jeez! You act like I assaulted you or something!" Huey sighed looking around them, kind of like he knew that something was up in the air._

"_Because somebody did Huey!" Jazmine shot back, whispering as though somebody could hear her._

"_Sorry, Jazmine, but there are far too many things…" Huey began_

"_For a revolutionary such as myself," Jazmine teased with a deep voice._

"_Wow, there is a brain in there after all. Maybe you take after Sarah after all," Huey smirked._

_Jazmine ambushed him then. He, in turn, rolled her over a little gingerly. She struggled under his grasp complaining even though she knew he was going easy on her. His eyes were sparkling in the moonlight. He looked at her and chuckled, allowing his smile to grace her with its presence for a few seconds. The grass didn't feel itchy on her back either. It felt soft and cool, a deep contrast to his warmer hands on her wrists. She was still struggling under his grasp, but it was getting weaker. She really didn't want him to let her go. _

_He looked into her eyes again as she looked back. They were staring at each other now. Their breath seemed to flow together. The silence only made it easier to hear. Jazmine attempted to find her voice now. Instead, Huey's face started moving towards hers slowly. She closed her eyes slowly. She wasn't going to stop this._

_His lips pressed gingerly onto hers. They were warm, soft. She kissed them back too, not wanting to wake up if this really was a dream. She wanted this moment to last forever. She didn't want it to end. She kissed him until they ran out of breath. _

_Then, all too soon, he lifted himself up. Jazmine sat up, but she just looked at the stars around them. She was waiting to wake up. It was too good to be true. It had to be a dream, but it wasn't._

_Huey offered her his hand. She took it as he lifted her up, a smirk on his normally sullen face. She looked away from him shyly. _

"_Happy Birthday, Jazmine," he said softly._

"_Thanks" she said simply._

_And that was that. They walked away from the hill that morning. The kiss was never discussed again, and that night, Jazmine wondered why she felt as though she was being watched. She shook it off. Huey was probably right. He always was. She snuggled into her pillow, sending a silent prayer to heaven that he was right._

_(End of Flashback)_

Jazmine sighed again. Her flight was leaving early. She had to head to Woodcrest. Even if she wasn't necessarily the same Jazmine, she still wanted to go back home. It was five days until Christmas Eve. She smiled a little, thinking of one of the happiest days on Earth. Her hair was straight again. Her green eyes were twinkling.

She looked back at her boyfriend, Cairo. He smiled too. He was headed home to Chicago for now. He had wanted her to come with him, but with everything that happened this year, she decided that it would be better if she went to Woodcrest with her dad. Cairo had understood.

She tossed him a shirt from his drawer as he sat up, yawning. She simply smirked. She'd worn him out again last night. Jazmine four versus Cairo zero. She had lost her virginity to him about a month ago. She knew it wouldn't come back again, but she had wanted to. She had really, really wanted to, and Cairo had no problem obliging. She knew that she was ready, and they took all of the proper precautions. Plus, it felt amazing anyways. Now she knew what Cindy had meant when she said she had no idea what she was missing. Wow.

Cairo grabbed her suitcase and looked at her with brown puppy dog eyes. She gave him a little peck on the lips but shook her head no. She was not meeting Cairo's family just yet. Cairo seized her lips again. Crap. She wasn't going to get to the airport at this rate.

"Cairrooo," she whined, "Come on, babe. I want to get to Woodcrest, not back to the bed."

"Hmmmhmmm," teased Cairo, "And what's wrong with that?"

"Whatever, Cairo" she said pushing him off of her slightly, "Let's go."

"Hey, babe," He called out, "You don't know Huey Freeman do you?"

Cairo had finally figured out who she acted like about a month ago. He had wondered why she reminded him of somebody, but the way she tended to jump from bubbly to a practical pessimist in various moments made it a little difficult. She acted like his old best friend from about eight and a half years ago, Huey Freeman.

Huey had been his best friend for a while. They had done everything together. He had listened to Huey rant about everything at the age of ten. Cairo had always joked that Huey had the mind of sixty five year old, and Huey would retort with some fancy phrase that he had just made up.

Then, Huey had moved away to Woodcrest. Cairo felt angry then. It hadn't been fair at all. Huey had just left him in Chicago for some old white neighborhood and never come back. Of course, it wasn't his fault at all. Cairo knew that now, but he had been angry then. He didn't want his best friend to leave him. He was just a scared, wimpy kid.

He replaced Huey with Duey. Even though Duey wasn't exactly Huey, he was a little close. He had the whole revolutionary thing going on and made speeches for others to listen to. He made a difference and used his tactics to change the way things were. Okay, maybe not that last part but Duey proved to be a good friend anyways.

When Huey came back to Chicago to visit for a little bit, he and Cairo got into a fight. Huey had punched him when they got into an argument, and Cairo head butted him in the process. Riley tried to beat up Duey, whose running skills surpassed his poetic ones by far, but he had gotten away.

He hadn't talked to Huey since, but he knew that if his best friend was still the same way he was then, he wouldn't be happy about him talking to Jazmine. He knew that he liked her too. He may have even loved her. He probably hung around her way more than they ever had as kids. Her little tendencies proved that much.

They acted kind of alike in different situations. It was subtle. You really had to pay attention to see it. Jazmine hardly ever showed her emotions to Cairo. Huey always locked his inside. Jazmine always claimed that she didn't care, but like Huey, she would work her butt off just to protect the ones that she loved. If she didn't care, she would just sit back and let bad stuff happen to people.

He also knew that there was a chance that Jazmine was in love with Huey. He could even see it in her eyes now even though she was trying so hard to keep it from him. Her green eyes were twinkling when he mentioned his name. Too bad she wouldn't do that for Cairo. He sighed.

Jazmine decided to be honest with him.

"Yes, I know him. He's my best friend or he was." Jazmine began, "But he has that harsh tendency in him."

Cairo nodded. He knew what she meant. Huey did have that ability. Then again, that was Huey.

"He and I didn't always see eye to eye anyways," Jazmine began, "But when my mom died, his honesty sent my anger flying towards him."

Cairo looked up at her. He wanted her to finish this.

"And I said some stuff that I shouldn't have. It was the day before I left for UCLA," she said looking away from Cairo's gaze, "And I told him that I never wanted to see him again, that his words would never bring my mother back, that kind of stuff. I never really meant it."

Cairo winced at that part. The way she said it with so much pain and emotion proved him right. Jazmine was in love with him. Cairo wasn't even sure if love was strong enough for this one.

"So I walked off and everything," Jazmine kept on talking, "I was just so mad at him that day. It didn't even matter that he was right. I even left early so that he wouldn't even say goodbye. I haven't even talked to him since I left."

Cairo felt a little relief about that. That meant that it had been four months since she had talked to Huey. Maybe there was hope for their relationship after all.

"I wanted him to though," she added honestly.

Maybe not.

"So, how do you know Huey anyways?" Jazmine pondered.

Cairo told her everything. He told her about how he moved away. How he felt about his best friend leaving him. He even told her about the head butting incident. To his surprise, she laughed.

"What?" he teased.

"Nothing. It's just that you must be some bad ass ten year old to jump on Huey Freeman like that babe." She said.

"Well, I am Cairo." He grinned. Even though on the inside, he was hurt. Jazmine didn't love him. She could never love him. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't even Huey's fault. It was bigger than that, than them. He didn't tell her that, though.

For now, he was just going to remain her boyfriend. It was Christmas, and there was just no way that he could end it like this. That was just kind of fucked up. He kind of hoped that she would see Huey so she could realize just how deep her feelings were for him. That is, if she didn't already know right now.

On the other hand, he kind of wanted her to hate Huey Freeman. He wanted her to run into his arms and love him the way he loved her. However, he knew that would never be. Those green eyes would never twinkle that brightly for him. Ever.

He still loved her. Hell, he would always love her, but he knew that this wasn't right. He loved her enough to do the one thing that would hurt him the most. Let her go.

He still managed to smile on the way to the airport. He looked at her lovingly. He even kissed the lips that weren't rightfully his. He lifted her stuff onto the carrier. Cairo even kissed her again before she entered the plane.

As soon as that plane took off, he walked towards his own, wondering how he got himself into this mess.

* * *

Huey Freeman and R.H. were training-again. And if Huey had to say so himself, he was beating R.H down. He delivered another kick to R.H's weaker side. He then dodged R.H's synchronized punches as he hopped up and held him down. R.H groaned. This actually kind of hurt.

Huey kept it coming. He picked up the katana and threw it towards the tree. He focused on all his energy towards the tree. The katana landed next to R.H's head as the tree exploded into little pieces. Ash covered R.H's face as it fell from the small fire.

R.H chuckled. Huey had gotten better. He was more than ready now. Maybe he didn't need him after all.

"I knew I could do it," Huey muttered to himself victoriously.

"Whatever, that was luck," Retorted R.H, mocking Huey.

"Nahh, an ass whooping from a nineteen year old young adult," teased Huey.

R.H let it slip. Time was really running out, and he had to go. He had things to take care of. If Huey really needed him again, he would be there. Not that Huey needed him now. Huey could do this alone if need be. He just prayed that Huey could handle it, for his sake.

Huey had turned to R.H to brag some more, but he was gone. That was normal. Huey supposed that somebody was coming towards the hill. He waited.

"AYYY NIIGGAA!" said a loud voice.

Oh, it was Riley, Huey thought. Wasn't that just lovely?

"AYY! HUUUEEEYY CANN YOOUU HEAR ME BRUH?" Riley called. He sounded frantic. Desperate, and worried.

"What is wrong with you?" he yelled, a little frustrated.

Cindy wasn't too far away. She was half dressed too. She wore a robe and pajamas. And no shoes? What the hell was going on? Cindy may have acted black, but she never dressed like it.

"JAZMINE'!" cried Cindy

"What the hell did you just say?" Huey asked as his eyebrow rose.

"Ay nigga! Can't you hear? She said, 'Jazmine's plane crashed after it was taken by a terrorist in the sky. Jazmine is dead, Huey! OMMIGAAD! My best friend is dead." ,translated Riley, "Damn!"

"Well, thank you personal translator." Retorted Huey.

Cindy and Riley just looked at Huey in disbelief. Riley couldn't even read Huey this time.

"Nigga did ya ass hear what I just said about JAZZY?" Riley asked, his voice cracking a bit.

"Yes, I did." Huey replied.

"And chu ain't sad? You don even care? Mane that's sum ole bullshit bruh!" Riley responded angrily, pounding his fist into the air.

Cindy was sobbing now. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. This was Jazmine. Loving, sweet, carefree Jazmine. Her only true friend was dead. Her sister was dead. Was this how Jazmine felt when her mom died? Because this crap hurt. And Tom, she couldn't even guess how Tom felt. She felt like whooping ass, now. Who in the hell did these terrorists think they were, killing people to scare the government into doing what they wanted? This was personal now.

"Huey come on! We've gotta do something!" Cindy cried out.

"AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE GONNA DO?" Huey shot back angrily

"Something! Anything but sitting here!" Cindy yelled.

"Well, she's gone." Huey replied calmly, "And there's nothing that we can do about it."

"OHHH you're so fucking heartless!" Cindy replied hotly, her blonde hair whipping towards Huey. "I don't even know why Jazmine liked you in the first place. You don't even care that she's dead!"

"I do care! So you can stop doing that now." Huey answered her with a strong demeanor.

"Mane fuck this! C'mon Riley!" Shrieked Cindy.

"Aite!" exclaimed Riley as he shook his head at his brother, "Nigga yo ass is really fucked up. You know that?"

"Yeah, I've heard," said Huey sharply, "So can you comfort your little girlfriend and stop bothering me?"

WHAM! Riley punched Huey in the gut before he could retaliate. Huey just let it be. He was upset anyway. It didn't matter.

He looked up at the sky, wondering what in the world was going on. Jazmine wasn't dead. She couldn't be. This had to be a dream. He would trade beating down R.H. for Jazmine's life any day. As long as Huey was alive, Jazmine had to be. That's how it had always been. Footsteps had come behind him. They were light, almost like a woman's. Jazmine? Huey turned around, thinking maybe he had woken up after all.

"What in the world? You're supposed to be dead!" Huey exclaimed.

"That's not important right now!" the woman shrieked.

"Then what is? Because you died! I went to your funeral, Sarah!" Huey said through gritted teeth.

"I thought I was protecting Jazmine, Huey!" she exclaimed.

"Protecting her from what, Sarah? SHE'S DEAD! And if there is a heaven, she's gonna get pretty pissed when she discovers that mommy dearest isn't there don't you think?" Huey retorted, clearly pissed off as his fists clenched down.

"She's not dead Huey!" Sarah whispered, "I switched her off the plane that was scheduled to crash."

"That's just sick, Sarah." Huey said disgusted with her. He hated liars. He really hated Sarah too.

"Huey, I'm not lying, and when Jazmine gets here, I need you to look after her. She may not think she wants you or loves you, but she needs you just as you need her." Sarah pointed out.

"First off, even if Jazmine were alive, I wouldn't need her! Secondly, according to Jazmine, she doesn't need me or want me at all!" Huey huffed.

"So you want her?" Sarah said raising her eyebrow.

"No, I never said that!" Huey stomped his foot.

"Yet you never denied that part." Sarah responded.

"Look, I don't need her or want her!" Huey said as he forced himself to create sentences. What did his and her daughter's life have to do with the least of her worries right now?

"For your sake, I'll let you believe that." Sarah smiled gently.

"So why did you leave? Didn't it hurt you to know that Jazmine was crushed, devastated?" Huey asked her.

"Don't you dare start up with that!" Sarah's eyes turned icy and dark," I was doing what was best for her. But that won't work out for her in the end. She's still susceptible to dark things. Her personality is like a magnet for good people and bad people. You know that."

Huey couldn't really argue with that. Even he couldn't resist Jazmine's sweet gestures sometimes.

"Just don't tell her that you saw me when she gets here, Huey." Sarah replied.

"I don't lie to her, Sarah. You know that." Huey answered with a furrowed brow. He was still trying to figure this entire thing out.

"I know," Sarah bit her lip. She looked around as if sensing the change, "Just promise me that you'll protect her. And don't baby my daughter either! She's stronger than you think she is. Especially now."

"Whatever Sarah" Huey waved her off.

"Just promise me, Huey" Sarah was begging him now. Her blue eyes pleaded with him. It was too much, even for Huey.

"Sarah, I don't think that would be good right now. I don't want to make a promise to a liar." Huey responded gruffly.

"Damn it, Huey! I don't have time for this! Just promise me. At least for Jazmine, you promise me!"

"Fine then," Huey said, but Sarah was already gone.

Had he been dreaming?

Jazmine was walking down the street towards the Dubois house. He would take that as a definite no. He heard the shouts of Cindy and Riley as he made his way towards the Dubois house. He looked up towards the sky. It was bright and sunny. How ironic.

He had a feeling deep down in his gut. It wasn't guilt or anger. He was relieved. He was actually happy that Jazmine was okay. He looked around him for a moment before he whistled the tune _Up, Up, and Away._ He was sure that Riley and Cindy would come running any minute now. He still had about eight months to prepare for the disaster to come. Little did he know, time was running out quicker than he thought. Much quicker.

SOOOO….To my reviewers of the week:

Cruella De' Chelle, Traban 16, and my anonymous reviewer! You guys really made me smile! Thank you!

The rest of you who read and don't review. Uh, I guess I still love you.

Anyways…THANKS FOR READING, REVIEW, INBOX ME WITH CONCERNS OR IDEAS, AND THAT'S IT! 

Look forward to another chapter by yours truly soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The mulatto girl breathed in the intimate scent of Woodcrest. It felt like it had been forever. Though in reality, it had only been four months. She smiled to herself, nothing much had changed. Then again, what else had changed? Nothing was left to change. She frowned up again at the thought. At least with Huey she had some sort of stability, a lifeline. She had that support system. Now without him, she felt empty, hollow. She wondered if the day she left Woodcrest was the day she ripped out half of her and gave it to him.

She looked up. Stupid blue sky. It was mocking her now. The birds argued in happy tones as children played in the park. One small girl and her mother played in the park. Jazmine paused for a moment, looking on awkwardly. The child had pretty brown sparkling eyes with a skin tone a little darker than Jazmine's. Her large puffy ponytail bobbed up and down as she swung higher. The girl spoke.

"Don't ever leave me, Mommy." The high-pitched voice rang out softly as clear as day. Jazmine awaited the mother's answer.

"I won't, honey. Mommy would never leave you. I love you, honey." The mother replied with such confidence, such assurance that Jazmine was dumbfounded. How could she make that kind of promise to such a powerful question? She was going to leave her one day. It was bound to happen. It always happened.

Jazmine walked away from the emotional scene, not shedding a tear. Instead, she snorted. It was typical for people to tell you the things that they wanted you to hear. It was rare that they told you the truth. Oh yes, people wanted you to tell the truth. People claimed that honesty was the best policy, but lately, Jazmine noticed that a comfortable lie was way more convenient to live with than the truth. People didn't want to hurt you. People wanted the easy way out, lying, deceit. Her green eyes grew even darker at her epiphany.

The puffy clouds flew towards her now. They followed her around as if trying to tell her something. She didn't want to know even though deep down Jazmine knew she was lying to herself. She already knew what the clouds represented. Him. His essence always followed her. She wrinkled her nose. She didn't want to think about that now. She had more important things to think about. Like Cairo.

Cairo. She snuck a peek at him when he thought she wasn't looking at the airport. Jazmine knew he wasn't sad about her going to Woodcrest. He knew that they would be back for New Years. However, she did have an underlying suspicion that those questions about Huey had a deeper meaning. Maybe she was overreacting or just plain crazy, but Cairo didn't seem shocked at all about Jazmine's feelings. It was almost like he had thought it all out. She shook it off. Maybe she was off. No, her intuition balanced fact from fiction-always.

She turned back to her car. She was ready to go home. She wanted to see her father, Tom. She loved her daddy. Even though they weren't really as close as she and Sarah were, she loved him. She trusted him the most. Huey called him ignorant, but Jazmine noted that ignorance tended to reveal bliss in its wake. Tom was the perfect father because he wasn't afraid to dream. By allowing himself to dream, he allowed Jazmine to dream as well. He allowed her to have a childhood, a life. No, he wasn't perfect in his theories. He thought that doing your best got you everything in life. Jazmine shrugged that off quickly. You work hard, but in the end you still get screwed over. She shook her strawberry hair. It wasn't right. It was almost an unspoken rule. If you're lazy, you're fucked. If you're perspiring in the heat of the day, you're fucked. Even if you work your butt off to get high in the ranks, you're fucked.

What wasn't? The only thing that didn't seem to be that way was the money. Oh the money lived longer than humans did. It was 2022, yet 1960 pennies sat on the pavement expectedly. There were wars with thousands, millions of deaths. There were different types of government established, yet one thing remained. Money always stayed there. Cash flow never seemed to end. No matter how many corruptions, scandals, deaths, murders, rapes, and countless seemingly innocuous crimes occurred nothing good came out of it but money. Nasty money infected by disease and boogers of the human race. Money that people died for it and lied for it paid the price. Funny, all the money that people worked for ended up in somebody else's pocket eventually.

Jazmine sighed again, but it wasn't sad. It was more like an irritated sigh. When were people going to realize the truth? Apparently never, she thought to herself. She looked at the house that she once lived in. What had happened to her? How could she go from the bubbly child she once was to this? Maybe she really was depressed, like that girl said. Maybe she really was insecure, jealous, depressed even. What was wrong with her? Was that girl really right? Was she really some insecure immature little girl? She thought back to the day that the incident occurred.

_September 23, 2022_

_Jazmine and Cairo were eating together. She loved her new friend. He was fine. He was gorgeous. He was fine… Did she forget to mention that he was fine? _

_They spent a lot of time together. They spent too much time together. They were always snuggled together in privacy. Yes, Cairo had made a lot of moves, but Jazmine always refused even though it was growing harder to say no to his requests._

_His lips beckoned her to come closer. His brown eyes were warm, inviting. And that mustache was just sexy. His muscles made her feel protected and flushed. That's what she wanted. That's what she thought she needed to be. So why wasn't that good enough, now?_

_Her hair was in an afro today. It was pulled back with a ponytail holder. There was no time for straight hair, and the heat was beginning to damage her hair anyways. She was doing herself a favor by doing this._

_Cairo was staring at her. Jazmine stared back. She didn't want to speak, didn't need to. She wondered why it was so easy to be with him. She wondered why there was this attraction between them. She looked into his brown eyes. They were honest, no intentions or impure motives seemed to lay there. However, there were some impure motives in the eyes of the jealous girls around them. _

_Cairo had actually become quite the bachelor of UCLA. Girls forever strayed around their dorm when they clearly didn't belong there. They followed him and whispered of their dreams to marry him, carry his children, be his lady, or just have sex with him. It bothered Jazmine a little bit but not really. Cairo was hers for the taking already. He was basically hers._

_One girl, however, was growing increasingly displeased with their conversation. She had a short hair cut with curves. Her dark skin teased many men around campus, even professors. It was smooth, beautiful, flawless. She had just known that Cairo would hook up with her at the club._

_Too bad Cairo instantly shut that down. He broke it down to her that he had feelings for somebody else. And she could deal with that, really, she could. However the one thing that Dyneisha could not deal with was who the hell he had refused her for. That little innocent, white-looking bitch? Please, she doubted that the girl could hold it down for Cairo like she could. She shook her head, clearing her throat loudly. She bet little Miss Green Eyes wouldn't do shit about it._

_Jazmine's head instantly whipped around. This girl was actually the sixth to do that today. It was annoying. All the childish antics grew old after a few weeks. Weren't they in college? When were they going to stop being so goddamn petty? Jazmine didn't know nor did she care. She was going to make sure that they stopped doing this shit right now. Too bad Dyneisha had to be the example._

"_Are you okay?" Jazmine gestured to Dyneisha loudly in a syrupy tone, making the dining hall grow quiet, "You seem a little sick. I have some Cytec and Benadryl in my purse if you want some." _

"_I'm not sick," Dyneisha proclaimed just as evenly, "I'm just wondering what a man like Cairo wants with some fake ass Mariah like you. Hell, you ain't even that damn cute. With yo' white ass!"_

"_Whoops? What was that?" Jazmine looked around her to add effect, causing the whole room to chuckle. Jazmine rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Please, spare all of that. Not only is it banal, it's ignorant, and quite a waste of my time. Want to try something that nobody else can see? Shit, with yo black loud ass!"_

_Dyneisha was thrown off by that one. Maybe Cairo was right about the girl, but that wasn't her problem now. She still had a reputation to uphold. She was the most fly girl here and no little prissy girl was going to take that from her. Especially some random girl who just stole everybody's hearts._

"_Oh really? So you call me immature and then retaliate with that? No, sweetie, I don't think you get the picture. Just because you're insecure doesn't mean that you can put me on the hot seat. Your words don't change that, Dubois," Dyneisha declared loudly. Ohhs and Ahhs spread around the cafeteria now._

"_I'm insecure. I'm immature. That's really cute for a junior of your supposed popularity," Jazmine said with a fake smile plastered on her lips, "You're right about one thing though, my words won't change that."_

_Dyneisha nodded._

"_My actions do," Jazmine continued, "You see, your actions reflect those of an impulsive ignorant child. They serve no true purpose. Their motives are hidden away in selfish reasons. But you don't realize who you're selling short, yourself."_

_Dyneisha scoffed, "I have everything I ever want."_

"_Then why are you bothering me," Jazmine's eyes stared directly into the girl's own, "Because it seems like you don't. It seems like you just want what you can't have because you can't live with the rejection. And what's really sad is that I feel sorry for you."_

"_Sorry for me?" Dyneisha scoffed._

"_Yes, for you, because you've already been screwed over, and you don't even know it." Jazmine sighed now. She was shaking a little. It wasn't noticeable, but still, she was shaking. She had allowed Dyneisha to get under her skin, and that was never good._

"_And? Do I look screwed over to you? Just take your sensitive punk self on. Then maybe you can cry yourself to sleep at night again." Dyneisha smirked. She had her right where she wanted her._

"_Maybe I will," Jazmine's voice cracked at the thought of the purpose for her tears but held firm and rang true, "But it won't be because of you. The only tears I shed are for the lost life of my mother and the loss of a true friend. Sorry, but jealous bitches do not fall into that category, so you're excused. You want Cairo? Take your shot, but don't get mad at me for missing. That's your issue. I've got class. Goodbye, Dyneisha. Enjoy your sorry excuse for living."_

_Jazmine walked out of the dining hall. Dyneisha looked at her friends for back up, but they followed Jazmine out of the door. Students murmured amongst themselves and amped up their cell phones to spread the latest gossip. _

_Dyneisha hung her head in shame. Jazmine didn't know how hard her words really hit home. She wondered who in the hell taught her to speak like that. Whoever they were deserved kudos. Nobody ever stood up to her like that. Freshmen never stood up to her that way. She was in awe. She would have to talk to this girl if she ever saw her again. She held her head up high like Jazmine and walked towards the two double doors. She had to live better. And all of a sudden, she realized that maybe she didn't have everything after all._

_(End of Flashback)_

Jazmine smiled as she pulled into her father's driveway. It was good to be home. She couldn't wait to see everybody. She could already hear Cindy and Riley screaming. She chuckled. Some things about Woodcrest never changed.

"Daddy!" Jazmine cried out, "I'm home."

"I caaan heeeaaar heeer tooooo!" wailed Tom in hysterics.

"Daddy?" Jazmine said warily.

"Damn, I see Jazzy too Mister Dubois," said Riley, "What chu put in that alcohol?"

"Riley and Tom shut the fuck up, Jazmine is dead and you making jokes!" Cindy huffed.

"Dead?" Jazmine protested, "What the hell are you talking about? I'm right here."

"Then, how did your plane blow up?" Cindy asked.

"I had to go on an earlier flight," said Jazmine as she flipped her hair around, shrugging, "And I am very much alive."

Cindy hugged Jazmine tight. It didn't matter what she had on right now. It just mattered to her that one of the most important people in her life was okay. Jazmine was here with her. She didn't need any more explanations. She just never wanted to hear anything else again. She never wanted to cry again over a death. She never wanted to feel pain like that again.

Jazmine looked around the room. Tom was wiping his eyes, and so was Riley? Wow, they must have really thought that she was dead. She tried to say something. She really couldn't bring herself to. It was sinking in. Something bad happened. The plane that she could have gotten on crashed. She could have been dead.

She could have been dead. She could have been with her mother in heaven. She wouldn't be lonely anymore. She could be happy again with her mother. She could live with her in peace. Jazmine wouldn't have to live with the pain anymore. She would smile with her mother's sparkling eyes. Then, they could joke about how sad they were without the other. It would be like old times.

That was selfish, though. She knew it before the thought came out. She knew it would hurt so many people. When Riley cried, you knew things were bad. She didn't even feel scared. She figured that it was only life screwing people over again. That was definitely normal. For now, she just wrapped her arms around Cindy, holding her tight.

* * *

Huey Freeman was walking towards Jazmine's house. He too felt that the blue sky was stupid indeed. Life was clearly fucking with him. Sarah faked her own death somehow. Tom, Riley, and Cindy were in the house crying their eyes out. Jazmine was alive.

His heart lurched at the mention of her name. What was that? That was his heart voicing its emotions. He didn't feel that way about her. He didn't want to feel that way about her. A voice inside him told him that he did anyway. He grimaced. He hated feelings.

Feelings made the weakest man strong. They clouded the most logical. They eluded the weak all the time. Espescially love. Love screwed up everything. He didn't want it at all. He was a revolutionary. Revolutionaries didn't need women.

They needed strong women at least. They needed women who were strong, independent. They needed willing candidates who proved that they were capable of handling the stress. That wasn't Jazmine. It never had been. Even that day that she stood up to him, it wasn't her. She had been too emotional, too needy. She still probably was.

He entered the door silently as everybody jumped. Jazmine looked annoyed. Cindy was still hysterical. Riley complained about his "contacts". Tom was lost as usual. Everything looked normal to him. He moved towards Jazmine slowly. He didn't want to make her angry again.

"You're alive," he stated simply.

Jazmine nodded blankly.

"Oh, well, that's good." Huey said.

"Do you want to walk?" Huey asked her.

Jazmine shook her head no. She had just done that. She didn't want to do it again. She motioned towards her room.

Huey got the picture and walked up the steps. Nobody made a sound. They simply looked on.

Huey looked at Jazmine's room. Other than the furnishings and the suitcase, it seemed empty. How ironic that his heart seemed to be the same way until now. He looked up at Jazmine whose eyes sparkled a little but wouldn't look at him. The silence grew thicker between them. Huey shifted a little. This was awkward.

"So, how have you…" he began.

"Huey, about what I said," Jazmine interrupted, "I'm sorry. It was wrong. You were right. You always are."

Huey didn't know what to say.

"I forgive you," he said without hesitation or realization.

"So what happened these past four months?" Huey asked, motioning for her to speak.

"I don't know Huey. A lot. My mom stays on my brain the most though. It's like she's still here," Jazmine spoke with sorrow.

Huey fidgeted.

"Sometimes, I really think I see her. I forget that's she's dead. Her presence is so real. It's so natural that I can't believe that she's gone Huey. And today, when I heard I almost died, I really wished I had. Then, I would have seen her again," Jazmine sighed

Huey did the same. Jazmine didn't know how right she was. He thought of Sarah, the true Sarah roaming around, while her daughter was hurting sucked. It seemed sad, pointless. Plus, it was. Especially since Huey was the one listening to Jazmine talk about her living mother as if she were dead.

Huey wanted to tell her so badly. He hated lying to her. Even though he wasn't technically lying to her, he had always told her the truth whether she wanted to hear it or not. What was so different now? Huey took a wild guess. He was choosing to lie about one of the most important people in her life.

"I wonder if she's in heaven waiting for me, Huey. I know how weak it is of me to want to go," she sighed, "But I want to go."

"Jazmine, that's ridiculous. You want to go somewhere that may not even exist. That's stupid."

"No, it is not, Huey, "Jazmine fussed, "I know it's real."

"No, Catholic rapists posing as preachers are real, but that's about where it ends, Jazmine."

"Huey!" Jazmine exclaimed, "That is not true."

"I've never lied to you." Huey reminded her even though he knew he was.

"Whatever," Jazmine spoke with so much sharpness that Huey flinched on the inside.

"Jazmine, look about your Mom and all" he started up again.

"It's not important," she reassured him.

"Really?" Huey looked skeptical.

"Really," Jazmine looked up again, her tone softened, "Huey, what's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Huey raised his eyebrow as his eyes focused on her, her lips. Whoa! When did he notice those?

"The crash. What made it crash?" Jazmine asked.

"Oh, just some difficulties with the plane probably," Huey shrugged, hoping she bought it. He looked at her tapping her fingers against the wall. Jazmine wasn't buying it, but she wasn't arguing either.

She turned on CNN while Cindy and Riley piled into the room.

"MANE NIGGA YOU GAY," Riley announced, "Got Jazzy in here all to yoself blushing and shit, eyes twinkling fo yo ass and you ain't got her in that bed?"

"Sorry, I didn't know that it was cold outside and Jazmine's blood would rush to her face to warm it" Huey retorted.

"Mane fuck that…shit homegirl's got it…" Riley stopped as he looked on the T.V screen.

"Breaking news, planes have reportedly crashed all over the world. All planes in California's terminal but ten are down, and in other states many have crashed as well. Tennessee, Arkansas, New York, Pennsylvania, and many other states have issued state of emergency announcements," the reporter spoke

Jazmine froze as her eyes began to water. This couldn't be happening. The world could not be this fucked up right now. She looked at the screen. It wasn't lying. She shouldn't be alive. She was just glad that nobody that she loved was hurt. Nobody except for..

"CAIRO!" Jazmine realized as the tears flowed down her face.

"AWWW SHHIIITT HUEY!" Riley yelled, "That nigga done took yo girl."

Cindy was dumbfounded.

Huey simply sat there too.

"My boyfriend could be dead!" Jazmine was sobbing.

"Jazmine calm down," Huey's voice was monotone. He looked solid on the outside, but on the inside, he was scared. He was scared that he already lost Jazmine to his ex-best friend. He was scared that Cairo was dead. He was scared that his love wouldn't compare to Cairo's. Death was fucked up, but losing Jazmine seemed like it was in another league. Why?

"Mane Huey if I was you I would put a hurting on dude," Riley began again.

"For what Riley?" Huey snapped, "It's not like I care either way. I haven't seen him in about eight years , Jazmine is grown. Besides, the world is in a disaster right now, Cairo could be dead, and all you can think about is revenge-on a dead dude."

Jazmine cried louder.

"Mane whatever nigga. You gay!" Riley said.

Huey just rolled his eyes and looked off into the distance. R.H said they had a year. It had only been four months and now, the world had gone haywire. Was it time? Was it really time to make the change? Was it finally time to utilize the plan? Was it worth it? What person was even worth the trouble? What truly good people were left in the world?

He looked over at Jazmine as her green emeralds shed waterfalls and knew the answer deep down. He just wondered if he was really ready.

* * *

So thanks for reading.

To my reviewers:

My anonymous reviewer who shall be called WHOA!, gabredi, and Cruella De' Chelle you guys rock! And you made me smile! Thank you guys!

As for you thirty something other people, I guess I still love you too!

Anyways… stay posted! I just may do one more chapter this week…but here's the catch…five reviews. Yes, I'm bribing you guys. So until you see twelve up there, you'll just have to wait for a little bit. Deal?

Review, stay awesome, and if you have a snow day like I do, enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Huey Freeman looked around him before entering the closed corridors of the room. The house was empty. Then again, it always seemed to be. Grandad was still in the hospital pretending to be sick so that he could get some "intelligent big booty hoes". Riley was increasing his chances of parenthood with Cindy. Jazmine was moping over Cairo's death, and on top of all of that, all hell was breaking lose in the nation.

Huey focused again. He began working out. He couldn't be weak. After all, there was no guarantee that he was not alone in this. He had to protect himself. He had to work for himself. There was no time for distractions- even throughout chaos. He allowed the sweat to roll down his eyes, his chest, his body. He let those people die. Huey had been watching the government's every move. He shouldn't have been so arrogant and cocky, especially with so many lives at risk. He should have done more.

He frowned deeper. It seemed so clear to him now. The speeches weren't necessarily their own personal codes for the plan; they were for the enhancement of their own evil plot for dictatorship. Huey realized in the recesses of his mind that he couldn't have stopped this. He never would have guessed that they would be so bold about it. Huey wondered if he could handle this. He had never doubted himself for all nineteen years of life.

There was clearly a first time for everything.

Huey averted his eyes from the wall that held his interest for so long and looked at the figure behind him. It was R.H. He straightened up slightly, wiping the sweat from his brow. Didn't this guy ever make noise when he entered?

"Huey, there's been a change in plans as you may already know." Stated R.H.

"No, I didn't see any planes combust and then crash in mid air. I never saw seventy percent of the country go into a state of emergency. The terrorist level charts don't exist anymore, but I'm sure if they did they would be black!" Huey stated, his voice dripping with satire.

"Listen, Huey. Time is running out quicker than all of us at the agency expected, any of us." R.H stumbled out the last part awkwardly.

"R.H. what are you trying to say?" Huey said his brow furrowed. He knew what he was going to say. It was bound to come out. It was only a matter of time.

"They've decided to proceed with the plan. They're wiping everybody out who doesn't agree with the dictator ship, even innocent people who were and are associated with this movement."

"The movement?" Huey restated blankly. R.H had never mentioned all of this. He put it as though the dictatorship was all he had to worry about. There was a movement that existed. A movement that he was unaware of?

"Somewhat," R.H's voice grew silent. His shades seemed to grow darker, gloomier. They were filled with uncertainty, "It's more of a club, a resistance, an organization for a reform in government."

Huey nodded. That made sense after all. People in history had protested for ages. What was different now?

"This resistance group had the most power of all," R.H glanced at him, "They held the most influential people in the world, some with connections that their own families didn't know about."

"So they make a resistance group and get the people with influence. They still don't have their names out." Huey countered.

"True," R.H. agreed, "But the fact that they have money places them under a microscope. Nothing that they do is private, Huey. They don't get the privilege of privacy that middle class and lower class have in the nation either. Some of their own families don't know Huey, but people who can afford detectives and spy equipment do."

"So you mean to tell me that they got caught?" Huey sighed with a slightly agitated tone. This was annoying. Why couldn't R.H. just get to the point?

"Because you need the details?" R.H. snapped, "Huey, members of the resistance sent their family members flying home to avoid causalities in their families. The planes that crashed today."

"_I thought I was protecting Jazmine, Huey!"_ Sarah's words were ringing through his head now.

"But why? Aren't the family members technically useless? I mean couldn't they very well go after something else?" Huey said, trying to keep his voice strong. He couldn't get weak now. He just couldn't.

"Huey, you know what happens when you mess with a person's family. Just imagine what you would do if somebody was bothering Riley or Grandad," R.H pointed out.

"I would want revenge," Huey nodded slightly.

"However, the resistance won't do that. It's what the leaders of politics want. They want an excuse to lock them up in federal prisons and execute them," R.H. continued.

"So what are they going to do? Wait for more deaths, more casualties?" Huey countered.

"They have to take this seriously, Huey. They have to be careful." R.H. paused with each word. He sounded slightly rushed, like he had been working.

"Careful? Careful? Oh, careful is just the proper adjective to use at this moment. Because careful allows everybody to succeed. What kind of sick joke are you playing? Lives are diminishing left and right yet all you can think to say is careful?" Huey ranted. His wine irises narrowed. His breath was short and deep.

"I know you're a little upset, but you have to know when to keep your emotions out of this," R.H. stated gravely.

"What does that mean? I shouldn't use them at all!" Huey protested as if the notion of using emotions was foolish.

"Huey, sometimes your emotions carry more power than your fist. They have the power to control a whole universe if you allow it." R.H. spoke with a cryptic edge that made Huey's ears perk involuntarily.

"That's not true. They just get in the way. They distract me from goals." Huey decided.

"No, Huey that's not true. You're going to need somebody. Everybody does. It's human, and deep down you know who I'm talking about." R.H. reasoned.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Huey lied again for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day.

"Jazmine? Jazmine Arielle Dubois? Green eyes, seemingly innocuous, sweet as hell, gorgeous, a body like a superstar's, only better?"

"No, and don't look at her like that damn it! And she is innocuous and naive. I don't love her! I don't need her!" Huey sighed, frustrated as he resisted the urge to jump R.H.

"I never said you loved her, even if you do. Besides, you care about her if you want to jump me for basically calling her sexy, as hell" R.H. smirked as he looked off into the room, going off into his own world.

"Aye nigga! Just cuz you all scurred cuz the world gone end don't mean shit! Shit talking to yoself. Hell, I mean you sposed to be my brotha and shit! You can't be no punk ass all yo life!" Riley announced to Huey and the whole world.

Huey sighed. R.H. had disappeared again. How did he do that? It was almost like he really wasn't there. Maybe he had imaged the whole thing. Huey shook his head no. That didn't make sense at all. Right now, he just wanted normalcy. Well, he wanted what was left of normal, average. He hadn't known it after four months. What was normal anymore?

"Whatever sir pee in your pants at age sixteen," Huey retorted.

"Pee in mah pants? Mane heeell naaaw! Shit! I'll whoop that..ouch! Damn, nigga! You been working out on some alien steroids and shit? Cuz yo' ass got stronger." Riley yelled.

"Riley, when will you learn to gain some sense or something in that head of yours?" Huey retorted.

"Mane fool, fuck all that book smarts shit," Riley objected, "But Huey?"

"Yeah, Riley?" Huey responded after a long silence.

"Are we gonna die?" Riley asked with a subtle fear in his voice, "No homo bruh!"

"Go to sleep Riley. If you die tomorrow, it'll be from gang violence." Huey snapped, his voice strong.

"Mane fuck you!" Riley retorted as he turned over.

Huey did the same as he repeated the words in his head. "Are we going to die?"

* * *

Cindy smiled at her best friend. She just wanted to catch up. Even if the world was ending, she wanted to have a chat with her best friend. She needed it. If she died today, she could be satisfied as long as she had this chat. Okay, maybe she would want to rendezvous with Riley to, and dance around, and live like she was dying. Dying. She couldn't think that it was true. She couldn't believe that it would work out this way. Because unlike half of her best friends, she was really scared to die.

"So Jazzy, other than scaring all of us like that, what have you been up to?" Cindy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, college is actually kind of a drain! They take all that money from people and bore us half to death. Plus, some people seem to think they're still in high school. The only difference to me is that you're somewhat on your own." Jazmine responded.

"Girl, I swear you ain't never lied! Shit! Motherfuckers trying to get wrong with a sister. I swear I had to shut that down!" Cindy exclaimed as her blonde ponytail bobbed with her nod.

"Me too," Jazmine chuckled as she looked upon Cindy's doubtful expression, "What?"

"Jazmine, you and I both know that you are not the type to just go off, so what's really up with this?" Cindy said her blue eyes gazing at her friend. She knew her best friend, so why would she try to lie about that? Maybe Jazmine was playing.

"I'm not kidding, Cindy. I was shocked myself. It was just that…" Jazmine paused, wondering if this was right. California felt like a part of another life, another realm. This was Woodcrest. It wasn't easy to pretend here. You couldn't just pick up one self and trade it for another.

"Just what, Jazmine?" Cindy was listening now.

"Well, my boyfriend, Cairo and I were friends at the time, and random girls would keep trying to come between us because we were always together. They were just so insecure. It was so annoying!" Jazmine fumed.

Cindy nodded, remembering a few incidents that occurred like this whenever she was with Riley. Jealous females stuck around for many eras in time.

"And girls would just do the most petty and immature bullshit!" Jazmine continued.

"Jazmine!" Cindy gasped loudly, "Did you just cuss my nigga! Awww shit! I'm so proud!"

"Yes, I did," Jazmine smirked, "Anyways one day I just had enough."

Jazmine shrugged it off after she was finished with the long story about herself and Dyneisha. Cindy was speechless. She wanted to give the girl a high five. Jazmine never lied and that newfound vengeance in her voice made it clear that she wasn't. Maybe Jazmine had changed.

Cindy was glad. However, a little voice inside of her stated that this change was bad. What if Jazmine was different, now? Jazmine and Cindy might not have that common ground that they were famous for? She felt afraid. Change was normal. Cindy knew that, but it didn't normally happen to her.

"Well, you still a virgin doe!" Cindy grinned at her best friend, who looked down. Hell no her best friend hadn't. Cindy's eyes grew about three times their original size.

"Well, I..Cairo..we" Jazmine started stuttering.

"Oh my fucking gosh!" Cindy said as her voice lost the ghetto edge it usually had.

"We kind of did it.." Jazmine sighed.

"Were you drunk or something?" Cindy asked.

"No, Cindy. I was sober." Jazmine replied calmly.

"Wow, I'm just a little surprised that's all. Are you sure you were sober when you did it?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, I am one hundred percent that I was sober every time that we did it." Jazmine smirked as she put the stress on "every."

"So how was it? Was it everything I told you it would be? Cuz if it wasn't then Jazmine that nigga sucked at what he did" Cindy chuckled.

"Cindy, I'm not talking about this with you!" Jazmine yelled as she pulled back.

"Yes, you are!" Cindy growled, pinning Jazmine down and tickling her.

"Cindy, get your black girl booty off of me!" Jazmine shrieked between fits of laughter.

"Then, tell me!" Cindy demanded as her butt crushed Jazmine's abdomen.

"Fine, just get your big ass off of me!" Jazmine demanded.

Cindy gasped again and managed to catch Jazmine look rather annoyed, " Not used to you doing that, sorry."

"Cindy, it was so great. I mean it was just the most amazing feeling ever." Jazmine sighed.

"What did he look like? I mean his…was he big, medium? Was he just small?" Cindy kept on with her little interview.

"He was big, medium? I don't know. I've only seen one! It felt amazing if that's what you wanted to know. He definitely knew what he was doing." Jazmine smiled warmly.

"And the foreplay?" Cindy grinned.

"How many times do I have to say amazing for you to get the picture?" Jazmine said with a mischievous look on her face.

"But you…you don't love him do you?" Cindy asked with a sigh. She looked over at Jazmine who had decided that the ceiling was much more interesting all of a sudden.

"What was that?" Jazmine asked as she pretended to misinterpret Cindy's question. She hoped that she would just drop it.

"I'm not going to drop it, Jazmine. Give it up." Cindy answered back quickly.

"Well, I'm really attracted to him. I think he's gorgeous. Or he was gorgeous," Jazmine's eyes filled with tears, "He was perfect. He was everything I wanted. He fit the perfect description and everything."

"But you don't love him," Cindy restated.

"No, I don't." Jazmine stated simply. She just shrugged like it was no big deal. The tears vanished from her green eyes. This was really weird.

"So, you still did it with him? You didn't feel guilty?" Cindy was curious. She knew she was being nosy but she just had to know.

"I didn't say that," Jazmine snapped as her voice got sharper, "I said we did it. It felt horrible afterwards when we were asleep. After all the 'I love you's', I knew that I didn't mean it, Cindy. That hurt the most of all. I was the asshole. I am the asshole. I lied to him, Cindy. He could have had any other girl on that campus, but he chose me because he loved me. Cindy, I chose him to forget."

Cindy sat there silently. She really didn't know what to say for this.

"I didn't want to remember the pain I left here. I didn't want shit to do with it. I just wanted to ease it, and he did. He just did it at a price. Out of all the girls he could have had, he loved me, Cindy. What did I give him? I gave him bullshit. I gave him lies. I'm not even sure if he knew that I loved somebody else!" Jazmine screamed as she paced around the room.

"Somebody else?" Cindy was quizzical.

"No, that's not I meant to say," Jazmine protested.

"Then what did you mean Jazmine? Enlighten me. Could it be a certain guy with braids or an afro, perhaps?" Cindy said knowingly but with caution as well.

"Huey? No, I don't love him, Cindy. I've never loved him. I just..I just…I don't love him okay?" Jazmine shot back angrily.

"You do love him." Cindy shot back.

"You do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You don't."

"I do! Ha!" Jazmine shouted then turned blushed brightly as she realized what she said.

"See what I mean." Cindy chuckled at the girl.

"No, I don't see what you mean. I don't love him. End. Of. Story." Jazmine smiled.

"No, it's not. I bet you even thought of Huey when you were with Caiso." Cindy grinned.

"It's Cairo, and no, I did not." Jazmine fibbed even though her insides were screaming the truth.

"Whatever. You know that you love Huey. Everybody does. Even Riley can see it." Cindy countered.

"Then maybe you're blind, Cindy. I don't love him. Love only weakens the strong." Jazmine argued back.

"That just proved that you do love him! Jazmine you're starting to act like him. And you're blushing just thinking about him." Cindy smiled.

"Cindy cut it out!" Jazmine whined.

"And that's why Cailo wasn't that good. Because you love Huey." The blonde hair shook in agreement.

"What part of amazing didn't you get Cindy? And it's Cairo!" Jazmine shot back.

"Oh, I got that part Jazmine. However, I have to disagree with you. Because if you love somebody, and I mean you really love somebody, then words shouldn't suffice for the most intimate moment with that person." Cindy explained.

Jazmine got silent as she took Cindy's words into consideration. Was Cindy really right? She knew she loved Huey, but if he didn't love her back, she knew it would hurt. Jazmine didn't want that anymore. Her heart was big, and she didn't want something so sharp to burst it into a little thousand pieces again. Telling him how she felt would only ruin things between them.

He didn't need her. She didn't need him. That hadn't changed. It wouldn't start now. It couldn't start now. Things were too complicated. Especially with the world the way it was now. Jazmine wondered what she could do to help. Maybe she could get a group of people to help. Maybe she could find a group of people who knew what was going on.

"Yeah, I know that I'm right, nigga!" Cindy exclaimed.

"I'm half.." Jazmine started.

"Whatever, Jazmine" Cindy said holding up her hand.

"Dayuuum!" Riley whispered next to the window.

"I'll say. I can't believe Cindy has a brain," A voice agreed behind him.

"What the hell, Huey? Sneaking up like that on a nigga!" Riley cried out.

"Well, next time you trespass, I'll let you take all the credit on your juvenile record." Huey smirked.

"Hell naw! That's some bullshit. But on the real bruh, how long you been standing dur'?" Riley asked.

"It's just us you know. I know you have a few brains in there to create some decent sentences, " Huey said as he tried to change the subject.

"You didn't answer my question though!" Riley argued, too angry to use ebonics.

"Yes, I heard the whole conversation if that's what you want to know." Huey said rolling his eyes.

"And nigga?" Riley smirked, "You gon' get with her or not?"

"Riley, I'm a revolutionary!" Huey growled.

"Hell, everybody needs love my nigga. Even gangstas like me." Riley looked at his older brother.

"Not me. Besides, Jazmine and I could never be together. She's too weak. She loves too hard." Huey pointed out.

"Maybe that's what you see mane, but what about the fact that it takes some kinda strength to love every time somebody hurts you. Especially if you're like Jazmine and you gravitate towards every one," Riley pointed out.

"Whatever, Riley. It doesn't matter what you or Cindy or anybody have to say. Jazmine and I…we're nothing more than friends, and the sooner you realize that. The better off you'll be." Huey sighed, frustrated as he stormed off towards the house.

"Mane that's another reason you need love! You don't even have any in your own heart. That's cold dude." Riley yelled after him.

Huey didn't care what anybody said. Fuck love. He was here for one purpose and loving Jazmine Dubois wasn't it.

R.H. looked off from a distance. He shook his head as he took out the picture. Even after all these years, she still looked the same. He looked over at Jazmine's house one final time before starting towards the car he had recently purchased.

"I won't let you down again. I promise you that." He whispered to the picture. Then, he sped off into the darkness of the night, praying to god that he would find his light again.

* * *

So… Shout-Outs?

WHOA or should I say shock!, Gabredi, and Cruella de Chelle, it's official! I freaking love you guys for reviewing. You guys made me smile, and I brag on you guys. It's true!

Everybody else…R&R! Really! I don't mind!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day by the way!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Riley Escobar Freeman found himself being woken up by his older brother, Huey. He was having a great dream, getting money, dancing with hoes with big booties, and running both the Bloods and the Crips. Life was good. It was real good. Then, he woke up.

All of a sudden, life seemed really screwed up. Naw, fuck that. Life was fucked up, shitted on, and served with a side of ass. It stunk.

On top of all that, Riley was up at six o'clock in the morning because Huey wanted him to go to school. School? The country was in a major conflict and he wanted Riley to go to school? Nope, Riley wasn't for all of that. Huey could kiss his ass. Shit, the nigga was a bitch anyways. He couldn't even admit that he loved that whiny ass green eyed girl. It wasn't like Jazmine was ugly. She was fine as hell, and her body was so off the hook that he would find himself just gazing at it for a moment. She was almost finer than Cindy, almost.

Hell, Huey just had to be gay, talking about saving the world. Shit, if Riley were out there doing all that mess to save the world, the world would have to offer him some of that cash flow. Fuck all that preaching for the ignorant common man. Preach for that Mercedes-Benz. Preach for that Cadillac. Preach for a decked out Honda. Preach for the return of Tupac and Biggie. Hell, preach for Lauryn Hill to put out another album. But preaching about all that depressing shit and being mad all the time wasn't Riley's style.

If he knew that a woman loved him the way Jazmine loved Huey, he wouldn't hesitate to bag her. Women seemed to always want different things from men, but Jazmine and Cindy? He knew they were different. They had that power to love, to trust. Many women barely knew what they wanted. Many women were still little girls. Maybe that's what Huey thought Jazmine was. Riley chuckled at his brother then, knowing how wrong he was.

However, Riley was through focusing on this for the time being. He had more important things to attend to. After all, getting out of that bitch ass prison they called school was very important. You see school didn't even offer that he needed after graduation. How about Gangsta Education 101? What about a class on how to legally put your niggas in check with weapons when they tried to diminish your cash flow with that shady shit? Hell, what about how to show all them other niggas that they don't run the streets because Young Reezy did? Shit. All this shit Riley had done for Woodcrest. He had renamed the streets to more gangsta names to protect them from robbers. They had just changed it back to Timid Deer Lane. What kind of hard person lives on Timid Deer Lane? Hell, he had given them the rep of gangstaness! And what did they do for him? The police chased him around, put him in anger management. Granddad beat his ass. Then, all of them sent him to school to get his education when he learned everything he knew about being gansta on his own.

He was not going to school point blank. Period. It was a waste of his time. That's what he was going to tell Huey.

"Mane, niggga! Fuck yo gay ass. I ain't goin to dat bitch ass school! Shit, somebody could kill me. The world is in state of emergency!"

"Not Illinois. So it looks like you're going to school after all," Huey retorted.

"Mane I just told you I ain't goin to that school! So you can stick that up yo gay… Ouch! Ouch! Ahhhh! Damn, alright I'm going!"

"I know," Huey retorted as he sent Riley off to school, slamming the door behind him.

Granddad was probably still asleep, so he walked up the stairs towards his room. His eyes looked towards the computer. Maybe he could get some information on the United States' condition. He looked up _Crisis in the United States_. Nothing popped up. His eyebrow furrowed. He looked up the plane crashes. Nothing happened. He typed in the word terrorists. Many articles popped up. He rolled his eyes. How typical of the Americans to believe that people in other countries really wanted to bother them.

Sure, they wanted revenge. However, Huey knew better than to believe that they would just crash a few planes. Another country's plan would be more thought out. Another country would have been more organized. They would have had a major ultimatum that they attacked. It would have related to the White House. These weren't terrorists. This was their own government. He just knew it.

He looked up the plan for dictatorship. Thousands of sites and blogs popped up. How refreshing, there were people with some sense in the world after all. He read each one. Some of them started off making sense and more of them just sounded plain crazy. Aliens taking over the world? How people could come back in time to save the world from the abrasive chains of dictatorship? How ignorant were these people? Seriously, he was sure that some of these things would never come to pass. He found some strange website all the way at the end. He clicked on it.

He gasped audibly. For the third time in his life, Huey was shocked. He had been shocked when Jazmine had blown up at him. He had been shocked when R.H. whooped his behind that day. Yet at this very moment, those things were incredibly insignificant. He somehow tapped into some very private files of the White House. These plans included the Speaker of the House, Vice President, and the President. He read the plans carefully and printed them out three times.

He had been right. President Tailor was ready for dictatorship. Unbeknownst to the citizens of America, Congress had ratified the plans, the bills, and all of the acts that would put this plan into action. They even had an itinerary. From the years of 2019-2022, they watched all major members of the NAACP, the people who were against Communism, and even small children who had proclaimed at an early age that dictatorship was wrong. They hated people who tried to break any types of ignorance as well. Huey gulped as he read the names of the people to watch out for the most.

He was number two. Sarah Dubois was number thirty. Jazmine Dubois was number six. However, that didn't even shock Huey the most of all. Riley Freeman was number one. Riley Freeman didn't give a shit about politics. Huey knew that. Everybody knew that. So why was his brother on the top of the list?

Huey read on further to the year 2022. Huey Freeman had moved down. The hell? He was now number sixteen. Huey kept going before noticing that Riley wasn't number one anymore but twenty -two. He looked at the name next to number one again. He rubbed his eyes again. Jazmine Dubois was number one. He held back stifling a noise. Sarah Dubois wasn't on the list anymore. At the very bottom of the list, her name had one word next to it, deceased. He printed out the list as his heart beat even faster.

He looked at all the information on Jazmine that they had. His heart twisted as he noticed a picture of Jazmine on the hill the night of her sixteenth birthday. He remembered how scared she had been that night when he had approached her. He examined the photo some more as he realized why she had been. Somebody had grabbed her from behind, their hand covered her mouth. He zoomed in as he realized who it was. P.J. Jorgan. What did the richest, most influential person in the country want with her?

He printed out her file. He gulped as he continued looking. Jazmine and Cairo in her dorm were kissing fervently, half-dressed. Jazmine and Huey at the tender age of ten were on one photo. A picture that Huey could recall greatly was there too. Her thirteenth birthday where he and Jazmine walked away from the hill hand and hand, their first and last kiss on her sixteenth birthday, a picture of her going to school, were all on photos. He kept looking through as he looked at a video message. It was titled ,"Dubois is becoming a rapid threat." He sucked in all of the oxygen he could, breathing harder than he knew possible.

He clicked on it. She was in some class. She was on her cell phone and held it gingerly in her hand as she seemed to listen to the professor. Her green eyes wandered aimlessly around the room. Huey's stomach churned as the camera turned to Cairo, who offered her a large smile. She smiled back before turning to her now angry professor. Her smile faded as her own green eyes narrowed then became placid. The professor looked straight into her eyes as they carried on a stare down during the class as the other people shifted in their seats.

"Ms. Dubois, is there something about Cairo that interests you?" the professor asked in no type of gentle voice. Her eyebrow had arched as she examined the mulatto in front of her.

"His face?" Jazmine muttered softly in a voice almost impossible to hear but audible.

"Well then, can you tear your eyes away from Cairo's long enough to answer my question?" The professor spoke to Jazmine softly, but you could hear the remnants of a quiet storm in her voice.

"What was the question?" Jazmine spoke louder now. Her voice was just as demanding as the professor's had been. Her green eyes seemed to sparkle. She flipped her long ponytail over her shoulder, expectantly.

"What's the significance of our government? Do you think they do a good enough job of protecting the citizens?" The professor smirked. She already doubted Dubois. There was no doubt in her mind that Jazmine would trip this up and say yes or no. She loved messing with the cocky and the weak freshmen. It showed off her authority.

"Well, I think they do a good job of protecting themselves at our expense," Jazmine spoke up after contemplating the question for a moment. Her hand lay flat on her desk. It moved slightly as the room turned to look at her.

"What does that mean, Dubois?" The professor wasn't smirking anymore. Her expression was blank as she attempted to keep the astonishment out of her voice. She didn't expect the little spoiled, shy princess to have any political views.

"They just tell you want you want to hear. The Congress, people over different departments, the president, everybody in the White House does it. They say one thing, but their actions prove something totally different." Jazmine pointed out.

Huey raised an eyebrow. Jazmine knew about this stuff?

"Well, what actions prove that different?" The professor looked her over from her gigantic classes.

"President Tailor claims that he doesn't support child labor, yet he wears many labels that use children to manufacture his own clothing. He's even visited some of the companies and given the children things, but he never shut the operations down like he claimed he would. If you recall some of his election strongholds, you would remember that he was big with environmentalists. However, he gave BP the right to place oil factories on the moon! Plus, he doesn't recycle. He hasn't placed one law in place for the protection of natural resources or increases of national parks," Jazmine said with no conviction, no remorse. The class was staring now. Nobody moved. The floor was all Jazmine's.

"Well, we are in a state of a recession, Ms. Dubois," The professor sneered. Her eyes rolled at Jazmine as if she were the stupidest, most insolent student in the room. The students murmured in hushed agreement, nodding their heads.

"For about fourteen years? That's pretty long. Plus, how are businesses springing up like mushrooms during a recession and surviving? Isn't that kind of backwards? No, Professor York, I really doubt that is the case. President Tailor lied throughout this entire administration. I doubt that he's really from the South with such a strong New York accent. Besides, he spelled the name of his "hometown" incorrectly." Jazmine's eyes glowed with confidence as she put air quotes around hometown. She knew she was correct. She knew she was right.

Huey kept on watching as his mouth hung open. He had never even considered the possibility of Tailor ly_ing._ He was a passive aggressive type. He wasn't really one to just push for things. Then again, that could be the catch. Because according to these files, Tailor was much more aggressive than anyone could have ever guessed.

"Ms. Dubois, fabricating things will get you nowhere in this class. That's our president you're talking about. He doesn't work for you. He isn't supposed to do what you want all the time," The professor spoke as she used her renowned hand wave. She turned her back to Jazmine and began to write on the board, continuing her lecture.

Jazmine clearly didn't like that.

"No, that's not true. The president does work for me, for you. He works for all of us. Why do you think we vote? We vote because the president has the duty to represent our voices. Now, if he does that for you, then that's just fine and dandy, but he doesn't do that for me. I have the freedom of speech and I am exercising that right. Thus, I am not fabricating. At all," Jazmine said as her large green eyes narrowed into tiny slits that made her look possessed. Her slender fingers tapped on the desk loudly as the class gaped at her in disbelief.

"Well then, Ms. Dubois are you finished or would you like to instruct the class?" The professor's voice was calm, but you could see the blood coloring her face, indicating her anger.

"Am I fabricating?" Jazmine asked; her voice softer now. She looked at Professor York her eyes large, observant, and waiting. The class looked on as well.

"Are you?" Professor York snapped before she turned back to the board and continued to write on the large black board.

Huey couldn't believe all the mess they had on Jazmine: videos, photos, copies of birthday cards, homemade drawings, her birth certificate, and most disgusting of all, her birth. The moment her tiny head emerged from Sarah's legs was even photographed. It was disgusting.

He looked at the itinerary for Dec. 19, 2022, yesterday. The planes had been scheduled to crash at different times in rural areas. However, one had a copy or a replica. The replica would be crashed so that the passengers on the plane would be assumed dead. Instead, the passengers would be sent to the Pentagon in D.C. for questioning on the real plane. One passenger in particular would be detained for a more intense form of questioning, Jazmine Arielle Dubois. He shook his head in disbelief as he read the plane's name. Flight number 576, the plane that Jazmine almost got on, had crashed, or rather, taken passengers hostage and sent them to the Pentagon to do who knows what. Huey wondered why Illinois wasn't in a state of emergency yet. Did they have something in store for them later?

He read the itinerary for Dec. 20, 2022. He didn't see anything on it at first. Then, he scrolled down. His eyes widened as he read it. He rushed out of the door, not even bothering to put on his coat. He glanced at the itinerary again. Riley's high school was scheduled to blow up at 12:33 pm. It was 12:40. He passed Granddad, who was running out of the door butt naked, fat and all jiggling towards the door. They ran towards Riley's school together. For once in their lives, hand in hand, they ran towards the school, not caring how ridiculous the other looked. None of that mattered as long as Riley was okay. They both prayed that he was.

Riley Freeman was not at school. As soon as Huey had slammed the door in front of his face, he had walked to the mall to get his hustle on. Then, he saw him. Santa Claus was outside the mall, ringing that annoying fucking bell. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't care if the nigga was real or fake. He was just gonna have to pay what he owed. Santa just hadn't paid enough yet. However, when he got to the mall door after all that walking in that cold ass snow, nobody was there!

Riley was mad as hell. He walked towards the house angrily. This was some old bullshit. He did all of that work to skip. What did they do? They closed the mall during school hours? Who even did that? Kids didn't just skip at the mall. Well, normal kids didn't, but he was Young Reezy. The mall should have opened just for him. Now, it would take him about thirty minutes just to get home again, and it was cold. At the moment, Riley hated his older brother's guts.

Huey and Granddad were clinging to each other. They weren't cold. The blazes from the explosion were so hot that they gave off 80 degree blasts of heat about twenty minutes from the school. High was ablaze. Parents were screaming and falling out as the windows didn't even crackle or pop. They just melted. The school was melting. It was like a molting factory. Too bad it was a school. Some of the seniors who had gone out to lunch were crying, new tears replacing the old ones that just fell from their eyes freely.

News stations were everywhere. They had no respect for any of the parents or children. One of the reporters had the nerve to ask Huey how he felt about the possibility of Riley's death. Huey glared at him angrily wanting to ask him how _he _would feel if his only brother was being melted alive. Instead, he did something much more logical in his eyes. That's why the reporter was sitting in the back of an ambulance in a wheelchair with six broken ribs, a swollen eye, two broken legs, and one broken arm. Nobody even bothered telling Huey to leave. Everybody was upset.

A familiar slender hand touched Huey's own. He turned around to face Jazmine. Her face carried no tears or a hint of a smile. She just nodded as she grabbed his hand, looking towards the school. Her green eyes carried the reflection of the fire in them. One lone tear trickled down her cheek. She didn't wipe it away. Instead, she kept her hand on his.

Next to him, he also heard sobs. Cindy was with Jazmine too. Jazmine had her arm around her as she held up her weight. He looked at her silently. She looked awful. Her whole face was red. Her hair was messy. She was wearing her pajamas. Cindy's whole face reflected fear. She was scared. They all were.

They watched together as the building melted. They all hoped that Riley got out. They didn't need to say it aloud to want that. Huey just closed his eyes. He knew Riley may have disobeyed him. Out of all the times in their whole brotherly relationship, Huey had never wanted such a thing. Yet this time, he wanted it to be done most of all. He wanted his brother to disobey him, refute him, and cuss him out. Anything he did would make Huey happy as long as he was alive. He didn't think he could live without him.

He remembered when Riley said his first word. Ironically, it was paper, but it was Riley. Riley, the boy who was always cracking jokes, the dude who called people gay, who said no homo, who was loud for no specific reason, could be dead. His brother that loved BET, that wanted the hoes and the cars could be dead, and it would somehow be his fault.

He still wasn't coming out. The crowd was rocking now. Everybody was too shocked to do anything else. It was cooling down, but nobody moved. No voice complained about the cold for once. This was just a piece of work. This wasn't a dream. He had tried to wake up so many times. He tried to pinch himself.

Even Cindy couldn't cry anymore. She was fresh out of them. She didn't have any left to use. She needed Riley back. She needed her boyfriend alive. She loved him. She really and truly loved him. She couldn't live without him. Cindy saw the school melt to the ground, but she didn't want to believe that he was dead. She wanted to believe that he got out somehow.

"Boom!" Another explosion hit the school so intensely, that some people had first degree burns on their bodies' miles away from the school.

They hopped up from the blow. Huey held in his tears, but his eyes were glistening. Jazmine's eyes did the same. Granddad and Cindy were crying as they shook. Jazmine and Huey's hands were still connected to one another. They squeezed their hands tighter, closer. They wanted to look away, but they couldn't. It was just too horrible.

All of a sudden, a very loud familiar voice yelled from behind them.

"Ay! Wut's wrong wit ya'll? And dammnn Granddad put on some clothes! Don't nobody wanna see all that shit! Hell, what the fuck is wrong with yo asses! Damn, Cindy! Do I need to beat a nigga's ass! And where's the school at!" Riley exclaimed.

Cindy and Granddad leaped towards him, squeezing the life out of him.

"Dang! Ya'll acting like I was dead or some shit!" Riley exclaimed.

"We did think you were dead, baby," Cindy's eyes watered still holding on to him.

"Mane, please I'm Young Reezy!" Riley answered, but his voice shook as he looked at the melting heap that was his school.

That could have been him. He could have died today. Had he listened to Huey, he would be melted metal. He would be in some memorial service somewhere. He didn't care what anybody said. He was never ever going back in that school again, not that he could. He wanted to yell at Huey for making him go to that bitch ass place anyway, but he saw the look in Huey's eyes and stopped.

Huey never ever showed his emotions, but you could see the fear in his eyes for this one moment. When he noted that Riley was looking at him, he put on his usual mask, but Riley knew better. He knew that his brother was putting on a brave front. He was just as human as Riley, as anybody.

Riley also noted that Jazmine and his brother were holding hands as they watched the fire. He just shook his head. He knew that they needed each other. They loved each other. He had always known that. He pulled out his camera and snapped the photo; the fire burned in the background. Jazmine watched the fire. Huey watched Jazmine.

Riley glanced at it for a moment, satisfied. He glanced at the school and felt sad dor all of his friends that died. However, people died, and there was nothing he could do about it. He angrily turned away from the scene regardless as he heard a reporter comment on the terrorists and their recent attack on High School.

Riley knew that was a lie. He wasn't that stupid. It was just like every crime being blamed on members of his gang. Shit. He knew terrorists wouldn't blow up High. They would blow up some smaller kids because that would piss off America or a highly populated school. They wanted him for something. He just didn't know what. He looked over his shoulder towards his family, two by blood and two by heart.

He wanted to tell them how much he loved them. He wanted to tell them not to cry. He wanted to thank them for being there for him all of his life. That, however, was a bitch ass move that Riley would not partake in. Instead, he motioned to the group.

"Ay! Let's go!" Riley exclaimed, "All this bitch ass crying is making me uncomfortable."

Cindy and Riley walked off together attached to the hip. Jazmine and Huey walked together too, no longer holding hands. Granddad was still all alone though. He growled in disgust as he realized he had no one. His eyes softened as he looked before him. What was he thinking? He had everything.

"Come on Granddad! You need to put on some clothes anyway!" Riley exclaimed loudly as he shook his head, laughing.

And then some.

Anonymous reviewer and Cruella De' Chelle…thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I love you guys!

So that was Chapter Seven…liked it, loved it, wanted to wring my neck out! R&R peeps! R&R!

Shit you better! I almost died in this bitch!

RILEY!. But ehhhhrrmmm…Review! I'll be busy disciplining one loud character o'mine! 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Cairo had finally woken up and wondered where he was. He felt awful. It was like somebody had drugged him and placed him in some dark room. What kind of jet lag was this? He couldn't even remember landing in Chicago.

His head was throbbing. His brown eyes looked into the darkness and made out three different figures. His eyes narrowed. He hadn't landed in Chicago. He didn't have jet lag. As a matter of fact, he had been drugged. He had been abducted by members of his own government. He just couldn't remember who it was.

The three figures were clearly armed in front of him. Cairo bet that they wanted him to see that much and scare him off. His mind felt so foggy. He felt like he was killing himself just to think. What the hell had they given him? He didn't know, but it resembled the side effects of a hangover, a very extreme hangover.

He ignored that. His memory seemed to be returning. The planes beside them had crashed. Jazmine's plane had too. She was dead. No, that wasn't true. She had switched flights. Jazmine lived. She made it to Woodcrest. Cairo shut out the throbbing sensation that slowly crept over his body. He was a man damn it! He couldn't let these people see him cry out in pain. He gritted his teeth as he kept using his brain cells.

He had gotten on the plane. He remembered thinking about Jazmine and Huey. He had wondered if Huey had professed his love for Jazmine or vice versa. He recalled clenching his seat so hard that the woman next to him had flinched visibly before they began talking. Somewhere through an half an hour of this awkward conversation, the plane was hijacked by "terrorists". The passengers began to scream and run around as Cairo sat calmly, protecting the woman he was sitting next to.

He flinched at the next memory. The other planes falling around him had been on fire. When he managed to look out of the windows, one small child looked in his eyes profusely, never looking anywhere else as she silently begged him for help that he could never give. He had never felt so weak, defenseless. Then, it had crashed to the ground with no sound as fire covered the ground.

By the time Cairo had torn his eyes away from the tragic scene, three armed men with black masks had taken him away from the scene. One of the men had been President Tailor. Half of his body was throbbing, burning maybe? No, it was much more intense that. It was like he was killing himself just to remember, but he had to.

Cairo thought he was safe, but President Tailor had slammed him against the airplane wall, demanding to know about the Antithesis Force of the United States. Cairo hadn't heard of it. However, President Tailor wasn't buying it. He started throwing out names. None of them sounded familiar. Well, almost none of them had sounded familiar.

"_Listen boy!" The president growled, "I don't have time for games. Now, what do you know about the Antithesis Force? Huh?"_

"_I told you!" Cairo had insisted, angry, "I don't know anything!"_

"_Then what do you know about Jazmine Dubois, that gorgeous girlfriend of yours?" President Tailor smirked, "She's quite a looker. Especially without a shirt, she looks amazing. I heard she's quite good in bed."_

"_You're sick!" Cairo had growled back, wanting to lunge towards the president with all his strength, "Jazmine had nothing to do with this!"_

"_Au contraire, sir, she has everything to do with this. Her and her little afro wearing friend, Huey!" The man cackled with a sinister tone._

"_What do you want with her?" Cairo demanded to know the information, making sure that he locked eyes with the president._

"_To keep her from threatening an entire nation, sir. You see that little nappy headed boy? He has no true power. People will ignore him because he's so harsh, but that little innocent, beautiful girl of yours? They'll believe her because of her character. She's learned so much about the truth that she'll tell it, and they will listen. Her character is her strength. It's the knowledge that's her downfall. It's a shame. She would have been such a beautiful prostitute for me." Tailor nodded. The sinister look was still in his eyes even though a smile was on his face. It was creepy._

" _Jazmine is not a threat! She's kind and sweet! Why would you do anything to harm her? I wouldn't allow anybody like you to touch her!" He yelled back at him._

"_Look, between me and you, she's going to die anyways. You might as well tell me. Because if you don't, you'll die with her." The president's tone was so grave and indecisive. Cold._

"_I'll die one million times for her! I love her!" Cairo shouted._

"_She doesn't love you!" Tailor pointed out wickedly. His finger waved rampantly in the air as it pointed towards nothing, "She loves, Huey. She hurt you, Cairo. Hurt her like she hurt you. Make her know how it feels to have her heart broken."_

"_No! I would never arrange for her to be killed. You leave her out of this!" Cairo shouted back, trembling as the guards tightened their grasp on him._

"_She'll die just like her mother did!" Tailor cried out, "Is that what you want?"_

"_If she's going to die anyway then why do you need me?" Cairo challenged him._

"_Just tell me where she is, boy!" The president demanded. His eyebrows cocked upward._

"_No!" Cairo shouted back simply._

"_This is your last chance, boy! Now, you tell me where she is, or I'll make you wish you were dead." The president stated._

"_No! I'll never let you kill her on my behalf!" Cairo cried out!_

"_Foolish, lovestruck boy!" The president sneered, "Give him the drug!"_

_Cairo found himself being gagged and felt two large pills being shoved down his throat. Before he could protest, he swallowed. He felt pain from the back of his neck as two large hands moved him to some unknown location. It was so dark as he fell down. He fought. He fought the feeling of surrender. He fought the feeling of uselessness. Finally, he let himself fall as he wondered if he did the right thing. A pair of green eyes illuminating the darkness told him that he had._

Cairo blinked himself out of the memory. That same intense feeling spread throughout his body. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he allowed the pain to settle in. It hurt so much. He wanted to scream- let it all pass him by. He let it out for a moment with one scream before he plopped back on the table.

Huey and Jazmine stared each other down. Riley had gone to bed. Granddad had gone back to the hospital, and Cindy went to "bed" with Riley. They could hear the rustling of the sheets above them regardless. Other than that, it was silent. It seemed like neither one of the two could manage to do anything but stare at the other aimlessly.

* * *

"Jazmine," Huey spoke. His voice was deep, smooth.

"Yes?" She squeaked as she inwardly smacked herself against the head, wondering why she couldn't seem to form any other words around him.

"What's up with you?" Huey asked. He looked into her eyes as if asking much more than a simple greeting.

"Nothing," Jazmine quickly replied. She averted her eyes from the wine of his eyes. She was dizzy from it, almost drunk.

Huey's eyebrow instantly rose. He knew Jazmine was lying. She was blushing and breathing all hard. Plus, she was red and dizzy. Her own voice sounded breathless, like she had been running through every country.

"Jazmine, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She responded with that same breathless tone.

"No, you are not. Why are you so breathless all of a sudden? What's the problem?" Huey prodded her with his questions He put his wine eyes in her direction, not being able to comprehend why Jazmine was acting this way.

"I'm fine," Jazmine responded firmly. She reminded herself that she was no longer a little girl. She did not love Huey, and she was too old to have crushes on her next door neighbor, her childhood friend.

"Whatever, "Huey shrugged, turning his back to her.

"Huey, you lied to me earlier," Jazmine spoke again with a familiar hardness in her voice. She allowed her fist to clench.

"About what, Jazmine?" Huey sighed, slightly annoyed with her.

"I asked you what was going on." Jazmine stated without any type of emotions.

"Yes, you did," Huey stated softly.

"And you said that there were difficulties with the plane, but you were lying, Huey" Jazmine's voice was so cold. She sounded so pissed.

Huey turned to face her regardless. His own eyes hardened. When had he lied to her willingly? He had never ever lied to her unnecessarily, "When have I ever told you anything that wasn't true, Jaz?"

"That day you did. You're not even acting like yourself!" Jazmine cried out.

"Me?" Huey stared at her incredulously, "You're the one who had to go and change everything about yourself with this new personality front."

"Front? Huey, I've never been one to pretend," Jazmine waved her finger in the air.

"You've never pretended to be a white girl? You've never pretended to be something you aren't. Jazmine, you've always done that. Just look at your hair!" Huey pointed out.

"And what's wrong with my hair? What just because I like to straighten it out? You're really going to hold that against me?"

Jazmine was red now. Her green eyes were ablaze as they connected with Huey's. Huey tried to focus on the words coming out, but all he could think about was her. She actually looked good when she was angry. Wait, he wasn't supposed to be thinking like that. He told himself to focus on the task at hand, not losing this debate with Dubois.

"It was fine the way it was! You just had to straighten it out! You look like a white girl. I'm sure your mother would be very proud!" Huey shot back, saying the first thing that came to his mind. He instantly wished he had taken back. Jazmine was always sensitive about topics involving her mom.

To his surprise, Jazmine didn't say anything. She just lifted from the couch, shook her head at him, and quietly walked out of the door.

"Jazmine, wait, I'm-"

The door slammed.

Jazmine Dubois let the tears trickle down her cheeks in giant rolls. Her eyes were red, puffy. She felt so stupid. How could she believe that Huey of all people would lie to her? He would never lie to her no matter how bad it hurt.

She had always respected that until now. Now, she just wanted to be left alone. Life sucked so bad. She wasn't even sure if she wanted it anymore. Maybe it would be better off for everybody, herself included, if she died. Then, she wouldn't have to deal with anymore pain. She felt like crying until she didn't have anything left, but that was so weak to her now that she couldn't even force herself to do it. No wonder Huey was so angry all the time.

Life really did suck. She had been living in some sort of dream world, but Jazmine couldn't afford to anymore. She could not walk through life with her eyes closed. It seemed like she had already opened them. Then, she swallowed as she took in her surroundings. Damn, she was dumb. She had chosen to walk through some deserted street, and no lights were anywhere to be found. Plus, she could hear footsteps behind her.

Jazmine sped up. She was frantic. Her hair swung madly behind her as she turned the corner towards a famous hill. He wasn't there, but she knew he would be. Huey would be there if anything happened. If not, she was ready to die if she had to, but she wasn't planning on doing so without a fight. She glanced around silently, planning to land on the tree, but it was gone. It was a patch of black on the hill where grass had been however. It was almost like somebody had set it on fire or something.

She got into stance like Huey taught her so long ago. Then, she listened. Her opponent was coming from her left. She peeped out of the corner of her eye to see what was going on. She smirked. This might be easier than she thought it would be. She looked again. He had a gun and a katana. Crap, this wouldn't be easy after all.

The figure seemed to be studying her as well. She fidgeted a little bit. Then, she decided to make a small plan in her head. She smiled and sat down on the dirty hill as she looked at the twinkling stars. She flipped her hair so that the breeze would just flow through her hair. She waited as the confused figure charged forward. Then, she quickly tilted to the side so that he would roll down the hill.

He didn't.

Instead, he pinned her down on the ground just as Huey had done a few years back, only he wasn't being gentle. He grabbed the katana from the black fabric that held it. He almost rammed it down the mulatto's throat, but she kicked him halfway across the hill. She ran toward him and kept right on kicking, punching. He seemed to get weaker and weaker.

She twisted his arm around as he cried out in pain until she heard a familiar snap. His arm was very broken now. He fell onto the ground when she hit his head with her fist. A thud resounded against the dirt. She winced, moving back. Then, Jazmine was satisfied and walked towards her house. She heard him stir again. She whirled around as he picked up the gun and aimed it towards her. There was no way she would be able to knock him down without dying.

She looked behind her to see if Huey was anywhere close by. He wasn't. She closed her eyes as she awaited the pop. She was trembling. This was definitely a way to go out. She had escaped death once, but she only had so many lives she guessed. No tears fell. Everything felt like it was moving so slowly. Time had just paused for once. The man in front of her lifted his arms as her life flashed in milliseconds.

"Sorry guys. Huey, Riley, Cindy, and Granddad I love you. Mom, I'm on the way," Jazmine thought to herself.

The gun never sounded after about five minutes. Jazmine opened her eyes and saw her attacker and another man in a suit wrestling over the gun. She stood back appalled. Who was this guy? He wore shades and looked like an FBI agent. His shades allowed the moonlight that reflected over his shades. Her eyes widened as her attacker lunged towards the gun.

She ran toward him as fast as she could. The man in black pushed her away from the scene. He growled at her to stay down, but she couldn't make herself listen to him. She had to help him. He could get himself killed. This man didn't even know her. She didn't know him, but she knew that she would be damned if she didn't help this guy. She ran towards him again and hit the ground.

"Boom!" The bullet pierced through the air as Jazmine looked up. She hoped the man was okay. She hoped that the man was still alive. Hope just wasn't enough. She knew she couldn't have one without the other. That didn't stop her from wanting it though.

The man in the suit got up slowly. Jazmine sighed with relief. She ran towards the man, who in turn, smiled at her. She looked back at him, confused. She didn't know this man. She had never met him in her life. Was he an angel? She glanced at him for a moment. Jazmine doubted that angels wore black. She supposed that she wouldn't see her mother as her for a while after all.

"Jazmine," the man in the suit beckoned her to come closer.

"I don't know you," Jazmine stuttered softly. She started walking home.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you, kid." The man sighed. His chest heaved up and down. He had clearly been working to hurt that guy over there.

"Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?" Jazmine was asking questions.

"I'm R.H. I know you. You know me too. I promise." The man smirked.

"I don't. If I knew you, I would remember you too." Jazmine pointed out.

The man smiled in return to this. He removed his sunglasses to show her his wine colored eyes. Jazmine just gaped in disbelief. This was crazy. This was crazier than crazy. This was just plain weird. Just when she thought she had everything figured out, stuff like this had to happen to her. She felt weird, strange. She needed a drink. This was really flat out ridiculous. What the hell was going on?

* * *

Michael Caesar walked through the Freeman's door happily, whistling a tune. He found his best friend on the couch chilling out. Huey was looking off into the distance. His best friend was in some sort of daze. Caesar shook his head. He loved his best friend like a brother and all, but his mind ran faster than his own. He could smell the sweet scent of vanilla when he walked in. Jazmine probably just left. He decided to harass him about it.

"Huey, is that Jazmine I smell?"

"Don't start with me Ceez," Huey replied darkly.

"Mane it's a storm cloud over your head. That's cuz yo' momma' was so fat that she…"

"Is this important, Caesar?" Huey asked shaking his head gently.

"Define importance, Huey. You call me telling me to bring you a tombstone," Caesar wasn't joking anymore. His tone was serious.

"Because I might die Caesar. There's a very good chance that I'm going to get killed at any moment. If anything happens to me, you watch after Granddad, Riley, and Jazmine for me," Huey's tone was just as serious as his friend's. He looked into his eyes as he placed stress on each syllable.

"Huey…I can't,"

"You can. You will. I know you have the power to do it," Huey nodded.

"What about Cindy man? You forgot her?" Caesar asked.

""No, she's white. What kind of danger is she in?" Huey cocked an eyebrow.

"All races are dying, Huey. And wouldn't that make Jazmine safe anyway since she's half white?" Caesar spoke.

"Maybe, but…Fine! Look after Cindy too. Wait, Jazmine is still black. That's what people will think when they look at her, and that's the truth," Huey spoke softly but firmly.

"You and Jazmine were just fighting weren't you?" Caesar grinned.

"We're always fighting," Huey rolled his eyes.

"I see," Caesar smirked.

It got quiet for a moment. They both sat quietly for a few moments before Huey felt a small prickle in his stomach again and again. He felt like walking towards the hill but ignored the small cry for attention. Instead, he turned towards Caesar and continued to talk.

* * *

Jazmine and R.H. sat on the hill quietly. He had so much to tell her. She had so much to ask. Both of them touched a photo in their back pocket. They were very different but very much alike. Even when they didn't notice, it showed. Jazmine's green eyes floated towards R.H's face slowly. He looked back before taking a deep breath and telling Jazmine everything she needed to know. Around them, people watched. They listened to almost every single word.

R.H. looked towards the sky. He wished she was here right now. He hoped he hadn't messed up his chance. He needed this success. He needed it for the sake of people everywhere. He just hoped that he could do this. He hoped that he wouldn't fail them all. He could do this. The citizens of America were depending on him. If he messed this up, they wouldn't have a chance. It was so much at risk. Too much was at risk for freedom, but he would get it as best he could.

* * *

Sooo..chapter eight=posted. I would have posted sooner, but it's here now…

So R&R!

Shoutouts to…..

Anonymous Reviewer, Halo Love, Cruella De' Chelle for reviewing.

Cruella De' Chelle, Gabredi, and Crazy Brunette for adding this story to the favorites list! Thanks!

I love you guysss!

So R&R and stay loveable…BYE!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Jazmine Dubois looked into his wine colored eyes as R.H tried to find a way to tell the young girl half of the truth without lying. She couldn't hear all of it. She was in enough danger as it was, and people were watching them. He could feel it.

The night air had grown colder. No bugs lingered around them. It was just silent for a moment, R.H. noted. The dirt underneath them blew around them as the man's body he had just killed lay before them. He looked over at Jazmine whose eyes were cold, hard, foreign. She looked fine, but he knew she wasn't. He recognized everything she tried to hide. He probably knew her more than anybody else. He could see the questions forming in her eyes. He just wanted to do this the right away. Was there a right way to tell her this? Was there a right way to ask this of her?

"You said you would tell me," Jazmine whispered, not looking at him. She looked ahead of her. She was scared to look into his eyes again. They reminded her of Huey's very own. She thought about all the lies she heard before. Now she had to trust this guy before her. The world lied to her, Huey lied to her, even if she didn't know what it was about, and this man wanted her to believe him? She wasn't sure if she could. It wasn't her job to open up her heart and accept everything. She got up. Her puffy ponytail shook as she stood, preparing to walk away.

"Wait, I'm not some liar, Jazmine," the man in the shades chuckled. His laugh was deep, throaty. His hands fidgeted awkwardly as he did so. He looked uncertain. He almost looked like an older version of Huey if you looked closely, only older and more tired without his signature afro. He had another look on his face that Jazmine couldn't quite place. She wasn't sure that she wanted to figure out what it was. His eyebrow cocked up her, giving Jazmine that sense of déjà vu all over again.

"Who are you?" Jazmine asked him. Her own eyebrow cocked up at him. She walked cautiously towards him from a distance. Her voice wanted to speak, but it couldn't. It ignored her requests and remained silent as he walked towards her.

"My name is R.H. Jazmine, you need to know something. There's really not a life time left. I digress. There is no time left," His voice was harsh. He really reminded her of Huey now. The way he spoke made her wonder if he really was related to Huey.

"I'm not related to Huey. That's not important," The man, R.H., shifted as he referred to her internal question. Was he some sort of mind reader? Jazmine kept her thoughts inside, but this man made her want to ask even more. She felt like the silly little girl she used to be, and he hadn't even said anything rude to her. She sighed. No matter how hard she tried, things hardly ever changed unless she didn't want them to. That was the problem.

"Focus, Jazmine," The man smirked as her eyes drifted back towards his. He looked at them before continuing.

"Then, tell me what you need to tell me, so I can go home!" Jazmine exclaimed.

"Jazmine, the world is in critical disaster."

"Wow, you don't say." Jazmine rolled her eyes as the dust swirled underneath her shoes. Her green eyes had grown darker somehow.

"Jazmine, lose the attitude. That's the last thing I need from you right now." R.H. was growing frustrated. Jazmine instantly calmed down.

"I just don't know you! I don't even know if I can trust you!" Jazmine fussed as she stamped the ground with her feet. Her skin was red and her eyes glanced at him sadly. They told him everything he ever needed to know about her.

"Jazmine, calm down," R.H. said in a softer tone. He continued, "Remember how when you and Huey were younger he would claim that-"

"Members in our government believed in dictatorship policies." Jazmine nodded. Her eyes suggested that she took this all in.

"Right. Well, he was correct. Members of your government will advocate dictatorship policies," R.H. spoke softer now, his eyes looked around him. Jazmine understood. People were listening.

"But Tailor is so passive aggressive…" Jazmine dawdled on, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

"I know that's what he appears to be, but he's not who you think he is, Jazmine. He probably wants you dead. As a matter of fact, I know he wants you dead." R.H. spoke gently.

"Me? What did I do to him? I haven't done anything! I'm just nineteen. I don't have a job, money. MY mom is dead! I don't have anything!" Jazmine argued.

"Actually, that's not true, Jazmine." A female voice spoke from behind her. Jazmine turned around. It was her mother.

"Jazmine-"

"Mom? Am I dead?" Jazmine was confused. She didn't know what to say right now. Her mother was alive. She had been blaming herself, crying at night, and feeling suicidal because of her? Sarah was supposed to be dead. Here she was in all her glory while she attempted to tell her what was real? Nothing was real. What else had her mother lied to her about? Jazmine wasn't confused anymore. She already knew the answer to her question.

"No honey, you are very much alive." Sarah said calmly with that same smile on her face.

"Just like you are," Jazmine sneered coldly.

Sarah flinched. She had known that Jazmine had taken her death hard, but she hadn't been prepared for this. She was acting worst than Huey had when he heard the news of Sarah being alive. Jazmine looked so angry and ready to kill. It was almost like she felt as if she had nothing left in life to lose. She wasn't going to care if she hurt Sarah right now. Sarah's blue eyes watered when she realized the truth: Jazmine had every right known to man to hate her right now.

"Jazmine, I'm sorry." She attempted to hug her daughter and quickly found herself on the ground. When did her daughter get so strong? She used to need her for everything. She used to cry, yet at this moment, not one tear fell from her eye. Had she really put that kind of strength inside of her daughter?

"You're sorry? You're fucking sorry? Oh shit! After all the goddamn shit you fucking put me through!"

"Watch your mouth!" Sarah retaliated.

"Watch my mouth? I am eighteen. Fuck you! You lied to me! You put me through some sort of hell! Did you hear me when I cried at night? Did you even give a damn that Dad hasn't been right since you supposedly died? No, you were too busy being an asshole to care. I almost killed myself because of you! I wanted to die. When those planes crashed, I wished it was me. I watched Riley's school burn and imagined myself inside so that I could go to heaven. I would pray and pray and pray for some sort of sign that you didn't want to leave me. I guess life's really a bitch huh? Just like you?" Jazmine panted. Her voice was low and filled with anger.

"Jazmine, you know I didn't want to hurt you. I only tried to protect you. It wasn't supposed to happen this way." Sarah allowed the tears to flow from her eyes as she dusted herself up as she walked towards the mulatto.

"Get the fuck away from me with that bullshit. You didn't want to hurt me?" Jazmine laughed darkly, "You did a great job. Watch when Jazmine starts to cry her ass off, loses a part of her inside, but when she finally gets it together, I'm going to show up. I'm protecting her from the pain by giving her so much that she's numb. Thanks, Sarah!"

"Jazmine, what in the world has gotten into you?" Sarah asked, mortified.

"A few cuss words, an overdose of pills, heartbreak from you, and Cairo! That's what's gotten into me, Sarah! And you know what? I could really care less what you think. It's really not important!" Jazmine was pacing now. Her hair was wild, unfamiliar.

"Jazmine, calm down!" R.H. yelled frustrated.

"I'm not going to calm down! This is strange as hell! What the fuck did you expect? A welcoming party?" Jazmine fumed.

"Look, Jazmine. You don't have to forgive me, but I have to tell you this." Sarah was serious now.

Jazmine became silent as she nodded.

"When I met your father in college, the presidents were already somewhat corrupt; people like George Bush were a threat to society. The government lied to people. I had to do something. I had to help the nation. I joined the Antithesis Force. We rallied to few people, and most of us were wealthy so we had more influence. We kept our names secret while we made plans on how to take them down. Somehow, our plans were discovered. Members began disappearing left and right. By the time I had married your father, things were going haywire. I continued with my work until I became pregnant with you. My life was hectic. I had to temporarily leave the service to take care of you. You were a smart little girl. I tried so hard to keep you ignorant, and your naive personality helped me out a lot. Huey didn't though. I knew they were watching you. I knew they would come for you, so I went back in the Antithesis Force. Things had calmed down."

"Really?" Jazmine mused aloud sarcastically. She looked skeptical.

"I'm serious, Jazmine. Just listen," Sarah commanded before she continued, " Around your tenth birthday, 9-11 occurred. Everybody was so scared. The Antithesis Force was carved into many metal rods of the building along with many members who worked in the building. It scared me, Jazmine. I didn't know what we were going to do. You had hidden yourself in your room, and I couldn't blame you. The world was, is such a scary place. You see, Jazmine, people were dying. I didn't want to put you and your father at risk. Too many people were dying. It was getting closer to my line of duty on the force."

"And?" Jazmine's eyes flickered for a minute. Sarah smiled inwardly; her daughter actually was in there somewhere.

"And things began to progress. They were beginning to watch me, Jazmine. I could feel it when it happened. Jazmine, I was scared that they would do the same to you too. Besides, you were already hanging out with Huey so much-"

"And what does Huey have to do with this?" Jazmine growled protectively. The flicker in her eyes left quickly.

"It means that Huey was under heavy surveillance Jazmine. The government would watch you because you were with him all the time. The older you got, the wiser you became. You had grown up so much. Somebody from the Antithesis Force was supposed to watch you at all times. Then, you snuck out on your sixteenth birthday…"

"You knew about that?" Jazmine was so shocked that she couldn't even bring herself to be angry.

"Yes, I knew about you and Huey kissing on the hill, but that boy saved your life," Sarah spoke fondly of Huey. There were tears in her eyes as her voice trembled slightly.

"He what?" Jazmine cried out.

"The guard assigned to you had been killed. I wasn't going to get to you in time. When that hand covered your mouth and you froze, you were supposed to be kidnapped, tortured, and killed after they got their information."

Jazmine gulped as she looked over at R.H. He had put his sunglasses back on and gave her a small look of anger before she turned back to Sarah.

"For some reason, the guy chickened out when he saw Huey and took off. By the time he got around the corner, I was there with my weapons. I killed him while you stayed on the hill with Huey. It was the first time I felt like Huey served a positive purpose in your life. I felt like he wouldn't get you killed. He would fight for you. I knew that. Deep down my maternal intuition felt it too, or I would have ended your friendship somehow." Sarah blinked back the tears again. She sounded sad, regretful.

"Mom, Sarah-"

"I know it feels strange, but you have to remember that I was trying to protect you."

"I guess."

"Then, two years later, you came bounding down the stairs for that party. I forbade you t o go to it, but you still did. The president had orders out for you to be killed, Jazmine. I had to think fast, so I called a friend of mine at the hospital and had special effects done in the area before you even realized what was going on. You were so drunk that night. You and Cindy were just so easy to fool. I had to keep you out of harm's way. I didn't know that you would take my fake death so hard, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't take it back." Sarah said as she shook her head.

"And him?" Jazmine gestured towards R.H.

"Well, he's-" Sarah began.

"He's what? Bisexual? A warrior? Some sort of secret agent?" Jazmine asked her.

"He is Huey." Sarah waited for a reaction.

"Mom, what the hell are you talking about?"Jazmine shouted.

"You called me mom!" Sarah exclaimed with glee.

"Sarah, what the hell are you talking about? I just saw Huey! He has an afro, he doesn't look so tired. He's not wearing a suit." Jazmine retorted.

"Maybe I should explain it to you." R.H. gestured to her.

"So, R.H. or should I say Huey? What's the story? What's the deal?" Jazmine stared him down.

"I'm Huey from the future," R.H. looked into her eyes as he tried to see if she believed him.

She laughed. She didn't believe him. This was just too much.

"Want to try again?" Jazmine laughed.

"I'm telling the truth, Jazmine."

Jazmine was shocked into silence.

"Our country was dying. We were dying. I spent so many years with Caesar perfecting this device so that I could help the fight. We've gone back twice, and the outcome is always the same." Huey sighed.

"What's the outcome?" Jazmine looked at him with wide eyes.

"Death," he replied harshly, "Everybody dies but me. My son and daughter, my wife, my family, and there's nothing that I can do about it every time. No matter how hard I try, they take everything from me. I show them that they're wrong and like fools they resent me. They never realize that they should hate themselves."

"Your wife? Who did they kill?" Jazmine's heart was beating.

"You and I both know the answer to that question." R.H. looked into her eyes as she looked away.

"But why would they do this? How do you keep losing?" Jazmine asked.

"I would tell you if I knew," R.H. assured her. His voice was honest pure.

"And what happened to the United States?" Jazmine asked.

"Everything happened. Riots broke out, people killed one another, death rates increased, people were more hostile, and there were more rules. It was like the Great Depression on crack." Huey sighed.

"And what happens if we don't stop it?" Jazmine looked up at him as he sighed.

"You know that too, Jazmine" He smirked.

"So why do you need me?" She asked. Sarah couldn't help but note how much calmer she seemed with R.H. She grimaced as she realized that she was losing her only daughter to him all over again.

"Jazmine, we need you to assist Huey in combat when we head to D.C. tomorrow." He spoke gravely.

"Tomorrow?" Jazmine coughed.

"Tomorrow," R.H. confirmed.

"But he won't go for it!" Jazmine argued.

"Make him! You can get under his skin, mine," R.H. looked as though he hated to admit it. He really was Huey.

"I don't think I can do this," Jazmine sighed as she shook her head with guilt.

"It's not going to be easy Jazmine, but you can handle it," R.H. reasoned as he looked at her sideways.

"What if I mess it all up? I might fail. I could kill the wrong people. I am just a stupid, naive little girl who cries about everything. I can't do this. I'm not Huey. I'm not you! I just can't," Jazmine protested. Her eyes were showing the fear that she wanted to hide. Huey wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but he might be lying to her. That wasn't really okay.

"You are stupid," R.H. responded quietly.

Jazmine looked at him.

"You just fought off a government agency for a moment, pushed your mom on the ground after all her years of training, mouthed off to her, me, and god knows who. You are strong, Jazmine. If anybody in this world can handle the work, the sacrifice, it's you. You have the perseverance, the drive. Use it," He commanded her.

"What if I let you down? You'll hate me? The world will be dead because of my mistakes!" Jazmine wailed.

"Stop putting yourself down! You'll only fail me if you don't try. My world will be dead if you are," R.H. told her softly. His eyes were begging her as they held back tears.

She didn't know what to say. In all her years of living, she had never seen Huey cry.

"Please, Jazmine. If there were any other way, I would do it, but I can't watch you die again, Jazmine. I can't let them take you away a third time because I can't live without you. I'll be damned if I lose you again. I won't." R.H.'s fist clenched.

"Huey, R.H., I-"

"Don't say anything" R.H. commanded.

"I'll do it," Jazmine spoke softly.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" R.H. looked into her eyes.

She looked back.

"Yes."

"Honey, I'm sorry." Sarah spoke again, "If I had known,"

"You wouldn't have been able to stop it." Jazmine shook her head softly.

"No." Sarah sighed, nodding off.

"Then, we have nothing more to discuss. Do we?" Jazmine was harsh again.

"Jazmine," R.H. began.

"Honestly, I don't know what to say." Jazmine cried out.

"You're telling me," said Huey as he walked up the hill, "Sarah what the hell did you do?"

"She's alive!" Jazmine shouted out, "She's been in hiding this whole time!"

"I know that!" Huey yelled angrily as he rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"You knew?" Jazmine's eyes narrowed. Why was everybody lying to her? Huey had heard her talk about her mom. He knew how she felt. How could he have held something so crucial from her? He had been right when he said you couldn't trust anybody. Jazmine just never knew that it would be him.

"I-"

"How long have you known, Huey?" Jazmine asked him.

"Jazmine, we don't have time for this," R.H. began.

"We have time alright future Huey!" Jazmine screeched at the top of her lungs.

"Future Huey?" Huey's own eyebrows rose. What?

"He's you. He built some time machine after Tailor took over the government. It was horrible, Huey. He came back in time twice, and he's watched me die twice. He's seen your family die twice," Jazmine withheld the marriage part.

"I should have known that things were up when he fought me like that." Huey groaned.

"In any case, you didn't tell when you found out my mom was alive," Jazmine countered.

"The day the planes crashed, alright?" Huey looked at her sadly, "I'm sorry, but your mom didn't want me to tell you. I wasn't going against that this time. I didn't want to hurt you."

"But you did. Then again, that's what you told me right?" Jazmine asked.

"Jazmine it wasn't like that!" Huey cried out frustrated even though he knew she was right deep down.

"Then tell me what it was like, Huey," Jazmine folded her arms across her chest.

"Fine then, die Jazmine. Nobody cares that you want to be spoiled, but don't get America to suffer because you do. Cairo isn't dead yet, but he will be if you don't get yourself together and realize who's really to blame here. Everybody makes mistakes, but we have a greater cause to fight for. We have to keep our democracy alive, Jazmine, or others will die. Is that what you want?" Huey burned holes into her eyes.

"…"

"Is that what you want?" He asked her again.

"No." Jazmine shook her head.

"Then, let's go. We leave tomorrow, and it's going to be a long drive. Plus, we have to make you a little more discreet when we move into D.C. tomorrow. You can already fight. We just have to make sure you stay calm." Huey spoke.

"Okay?" Jazmine's voice was shaky.

"Then let's go!" Huey commanded.

Jazmine followed behind him.

R.H. and Sarah looked after them. R.H. had a smirk on his face as he looked at Sarah.

"That went better than I thought."

* * *

And that was chapter nine! I may post chapter ten this weekend… be on the lookout!

Shout outs to:

Gabredi (who was kind of close to R.H.'s identity), Crazy Brunette, Shellie B. (The reviewer who made my morning!), and Cruella De'Chelle….take a bow guys!

R&R people!

"Heelllp me! She got me locked up! AY WHY AM I NOT IN THIS CHAPTER?"

Smh…loud mouth ain't learned yet.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Huey Freeman and Jazmine Dubois were upstairs in his room together. He attempted to teach her how to fight, but it seemed like she already knew how. Her hair had reverted back to its puffy African form, just the way he preferred it. He watched as the sweat rolled down her body as she blocked his hits. He silently cursed the world for forcing him to hit his best friend. He hated having to go so hard on her, but he had no other choice. Luckily for both of them, she could clearly handle it.

Jazmine began throwing blows towards him left and right. Huey blocked each of them with relative ease. He observed her face as she smirked well thrusting her fist towards his chest. He blocked a little of the blow, but not all of it, groaning inwardly as he felt half of her fist collide with his chest. She had obviously gotten better since they had last seen each other. Suddenly without warning, she flew into the hair, her feet flying towards his voice. Huey smirked as he grabbed one of her feet with relative ease and tossed her gently onto his bed. Jazmine, in turn, pulled him on the bed too as he fell on top of her. They were both too tired to move, so they just rested on one another, sweating and breathing profusely.

"Ay! Wut's up wit' us going to D.C. tomorrow?" Riley walked into the room before eyeing the two on the bed, "Dayum! Did ya'll get it in! Aw shit! Finally! And dang Huey! Jazzy sweating and both of ya'll breathing all hard and shit but ya'll clothes still on! Ya'll must be real hot and bothered huh? Damn, Hu-"

"Hey baby, did you get them yet? I'm ready to… Jazzy is that you?" Cindy asked before looking over at the couple on top of the bed.

"It's not what-" Jazmine began but was cut off by Cindy.

"Well, it's about time," Cindy smirked with a look of satisfaction as she looked at her best friends lying on the bed together.

"Look, we didn't do anything, you two. We only fell over after fighting. No big deal," Huey sighed.

"Mane nigga' you gay!" Riley fussed at him.

"I don't see how," Huey retorted.

"Shit, I mean you got's this girl under you and…mane forget it, I'm finna get my stuff and dip!" Riley walked towards his closet to get Cindy's coat and tossed it to her as he put on his own.

"You got our gold packs Reezy?" Cindy grinned mischievously.

"Of course I do. You know a brother always stays strapped with the goods," Riley grinned right back.

"Do you guys do anything other than have sex?" Huey asked Riley as he rolled his eyes.

"Hmmm. Well, let's see. We go out to eat, watch movies, play basketball, run a few gangster acts together, talk, and do things that lead up to sex," Cindy smiled at the thought of the activities.

"Wow, that sounds fulfilling," Huey snorted.

"Mane stop hatin! Shit, both of ya'll some gay ass niggas anyways. Act like ya'll don't know what yoyu want when it's clearly staring yo dumb asses in yo face. Well, Jazzy ain't gay. She had Cairo. And you had Dyneisha but…" Riley spoke as his fist trembled violently.

"Dyneisha?" Cindy and Jazmine exchanged a look.

"Yeah, when Huey went to college ya'll two's sophomore year, this girl named Dyneisha and him was talking, but after two years, she had transferred to UCLA and broke off the deal," Riley smirked at his brother, knowing he would never want Jazmine to hear that.

"Wow, Huey," Jazmine spoke softly.

"See it's clear ya'll want each otha! Looking into each other's eyes and shit!" Riley waved his finger at them.

"Whatever," Huey and Jazmine spoke at the same time.

"See? Both of ya'll dumb asses need to quit being so goddamn stubborn all the time. Ya'll know you can't function right without each other anyway!" Riley was turning red now.

"What?" Jazmine and Huey yelled out loud again.

"What he meant to say is that you two want each other," Cindy said gently with a knowing smile, "It's pretty obvious, especially right now."

"I do not want Jazmine in that way! I don't need any distractions," Huey was getting angry too. His wine colored eyes had darkened.

"You do! You always have damn it! When you went to college, all you could talk about wuz Jazzy! Even if you were mean to her, she stayed by yo dumb ass! Talking bout how she weak! It takes a lot of strength to hang around yo' dumb ass," Riley yelled at him.

"And? That doesn't prove anything!" Huey retorted.

"It proves everything! Hell yo ass still on top of her! Stop trying to think about revolutionary shit all the time cuz if the world as heartless as you ass say it is, it ain't gonna be all cool and shit when you die and yo dumb ass in the dirt. The world is too fucked up right now for you to pretend like you don want Jazzy! Cuz if you die without telling her how you feel, or if she dies without ever hearing it, then you gon' feel ten times worst."

"…."

"And you should know that! Life is too goddamn short! Momma, Momma would have loved Jazzy ass! She would have told yo ass the same thing if she were here." Riley's eyes were beginning to water.

"Riley-"

"Mane fuck it! Just think about it, aite? Come on Cindy," Riley took the blonde girl out of the room before slamming the door behind them.

"Dyneshia?" Jazmine rose an eyebrow at Huey.

"What about her?" Huey replicated Jazmine's expression.

"Well, you two, a couple-"

"It's none of your business," He snapped

"Okay," Jazmine said softly, caught off guard by the tone in Huey's voice that she hadn't prepared for.

"It's just that she's the past, Jazmine" he said gently.

"I said okay," Jazmine shrugged her shoulders after she wriggled out from underneath him. Her eyes showed no emotions, "Let's fight."

"Jazmine,"

"I don't want to talk," Jazmine said as she got into stance.

"What is wrong with you?" Huey yelled out, not being able to say what he was really frustrated about.

"What?" Jazmine asked. She was confused. What was Huey's problem? He had never cared before.

"You don't talk as much anymore! You act like a totally different person!" Huey shouted as he raised his hands.

"It's called maturing, Huey. People change. Everything changes, and one day, everybody and everybody we know is gonna die. Isn't that what you told me? Isn't that what you've always told me since we were ten? Now, that I finally do what you say, you get mad?" Jazmine retorted as she paced around his carpet angrily.

"Jazmine, I wanted you to mature, but not this way. It's like your whole personality is fucked up!" He hollered back.

"Because I am fucked up! If it hasn't been any clearer these past few days, then let me spell it out for you. I haven't been the same for almost five months. The world is a horrible place, right? I'm fucked up. I'm so fucked up! But you know what, Huey? I really don't care. If you never want to see me again because of that, then that's fine," Jazmine told him bitterly.

"That's stupid," Huey snorted.

"You always think that I'm stupid,"

"No, I'm saying that you- whatever Jazmine. The point is that you of all people seeing the world that way just makes me think that life is kind of out there." Huey explained.

"I don't get it. I got what I wanted. You got what you wanted. After all these years, you stopped telling me the truth. I stopped talking so much. I stopped acting so stupid, and you still yell at me!" Jazmine threw her hands up in frustration, "Were those not the things we wanted? Is that what you want?"

"No," Huey smirked, looking at her as he moved closer to her.

"No?" Jazmine asked him, noticing the abrupt change in his tone.

"No, " Huey repeated as he kept coming across the floor towards her.

"Then…what do you want?" Jazmine asked as she retreated from his long gaze.

"I want you to talk all the time. I want you to smile at the silliest things. I want you to whine to me about all the problems I pretend not to care about. I want you to cry on my shoulders, so I can kill the bastard who made you cry in the first place. I want you to be happy like you used to be," Huey looked into her eyes again.

"And?" Jazmine whispered; her back was against the wall and she was getting drunk from his eyes all over again.

"I want your eyes to sparkle at me like they used to when they were younger. I want you to follow me around all the time like you used to, and I want you to bother me when I'm reading a book, no matter how much I tell you I don't want you there," Huey said his nose inches away from her. His breath short and shallow as he talked to her.

"Is that all?" Jazmine whispered lowly.

"No, because there's one more thing I want. You." Huey said looking into her eyes, not believing he was doing this.

"Well then," Jazmine sighed, " Even though we just got through fighting, that's really great. I mean because I thought-"

"Oh wait, I forgot another thing I wanted," Huey smirked.

"What, Huey?" Jazmine said innocently.

"I want you to shut up," He whispered before he closed the space between them, kissing her for the second time.

And she did.

She fell back onto the wall as he kissed her. God, he was better kisser than she had remembered. She didn't even know what she was thinking when she had even attempted to compare Cairo to Huey. There was no competition, not with Huey kissing her right now. Cindy was right. Cairo might have been amazing, but with Huey, no words could really say what she was truly feeling. Well, they probably could, but who thought of adjectives when they were kissing?

As if he knew that Jazmine had started thinking about Cairo, he kissed her harder, deeper. Jazmine had to keep her noises at the back of her throat. She really wanted to shout to the heavens that Huey had kissed her, but she couldn't. She hadn't even really kissed him back, and she could feel him starting to retreat. She moved her lips too, joining in on the fun. She tried to pull herself closer as she kept kissing his lips. Huey who had opened his eyes, smiled genuinely at her trembling form before he wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed her harder.

"Huey…" Jazmine sighed, not imagining sex to get any better than this.

He smirked and gently placed her back on the ground.

"I most definitely think I want that," Huey teased.

"But what if we can't beat them? What if we don't fight hard enough?" Jazmine whispered, her voice turning towards a more serious note.

"Who is we? I'm fighting them. Not you!" Huey told her. His face went back to its emotionless state.

"Huey, I won't let you do this alone!" Jazmine hissed back.

"R.H. will be there too! Besides, I don't want you getting hurt," Huey argued.

"No, that's not good enough! I want to help! It's me that they're looking for anyways!" Jazmine pointed out.

"How did you know that?" Huey's head cocked at her.

"Sarah told me," Jazmine growled.

"Well, you're not fighting, or speaking, or doing anything that's going to put you in danger, end of story," Huey spoke as if his decision was final.

"No, not end of story, I'm in danger as long as I'm alive, so I should be able to fight. Besides, I can fight. There's no reason why I shouldn't go," Jazmine argued with such determination in her eyes that Huey couldn't tell her no.

"Are you sure? Because if you say yes, I'll take that as you not fighting with me tomorrow. You don't have to do this Jazmine." Huey spoke in a significantly lower voice as he kissed Jazmine's neck softly.

"No, Huey! I'm doing this with you tomorrow! There's nothing you can say to stop me. Not-" Jazmine paused as he began to suck the spot on her neck that he had just kissed, "Oh, god."

"Come on Jazmine. Just promise me that you won't fight tomorrow," He said as he kissed her between each word so passionately that it took all of her strength to pull away from him.

"No," Jazmine smirked as she sashayed out of his room and down the stairs, "See you soon boyfriend!"

Boyfriend? Huey considered the word, then, shrugged. It didn't sound so bad under the circumstances. He started to pack his suitcase, and found the small box inside of Riley's closet before sticking it inside. He had a feeling that he may need it sooner or later.

* * *

Cairo had woken up again as the two guards spoke again. The president was hovering over him. A knife was in his hand. Tailor stared at him menacingly as the knife dangled between his fingers. Cairo swallowed. He felt like some sort of criminal. This was crazy. He felt so weak and defenseless. He felt like less than a man.

"Look, just tell us where she is, Cairo," President Tailor smiled at him.

"No, I wouldn't tell you shit!" Cairo shouted violently as Tailor's smile quickly faded away.

"I never said it was an option boy," President Tailor growled.

"Huh? That's funny because option or not, I'm not telling you shit, so I guess you're gonna kill me huh?" Cairo smirked.

President Tailor stared at the boy. Was this boy really so in love with that stupid little girl that he would give his life for her? Shit, he wouldn't do that for his wife. He wouldn't do that for his mother. This young man made him feel weak, but in a way, he admired him for his strength. Maybe that's why he hadn't killed him yet.

All his life people had doubted his power. People didn't think that he had the ability to do great things. Even his family doubted him. He proved to them time and time again that he could pass along a great legacy, but because he spent his time at home trying to better the world, they laughed at him. His twenty eight brothers and sisters were all older than him. They all came before what he wanted. Nobody cared about him.

Even at school, he was different. He never liked playing with the other kids. He never enjoyed just hanging out. It was a waste of time. Everything he did or fought for was never significant to the kids at his school. None of them ever liked him. They made fun of him just because he would rather read than gossip and gather sexually transmitted diseases. They laughed at his goals, his aspirations.

Then, after his political power grew, people wanted to tell everybody how much they believed in him. What a bunch of bullshit. People never told the whole story. They believed in his money, his power. They didn't give a shit about Addison Tailor. He chuckled to himself. That's why they were either dead or getting ready to die.

All of those unfortunate accidents hadn't really been accidents at all. They had been the work of Tailor and some good detectives and hit men. He was glad too. They had gotten what they deserved. He would show them. He would show everybody what he was capable of.

"Excuse me, sir?" One of the government officials ran into the room, averting his eyes from Cairo, clearly feeling sorry for him.

"Yes?" Tailor answered, the knife still dangling from his hand.

"They've found the girl," He said.

"Really, now?" Tailor asked.

"Yes, she's in Woodcrest, but they actually plan on coming to take you down, sir."

"To overthrow me? Please," Tailor snorted, "Thanks for the information."

"No problem sir," The man walked towards the door and felt a sharp pain erupt through his body. President Tailor had stabbed him in the heart with a simple flick of his wrist.

"Isn't that what they all say?" Tailor smirked as the man fell, coughing and twitching in pain.

"You bastard!" He wheezed, before he dropped his head and died.

"You're crazy! Why would you do that?" Cairo screamed, kicking despite the pain.

"Because, I'm an asshole. I hate people. I kind of hate you too. That's how it is. That's how it's always been" Tailor shrugged.

"That's stupid, man!" Cairo cried out.

"No, that's logical. You wouldn't understand. You're too busy chasing after girl who doesn't want you. You can't even see that you could be free right now. You could be free. Cairo, you didn't have to suffer, but now, it's too late. Now, I have what I need, and you don't." Tailor looked at Cairo with grim eyes.

"You can still let me go. You just choose not to," Cairo groaned out weakly as the drug began to send the pain down his body again. He didn't have long before he passed out again.

"True, but I'm the president. I can do what I want," President Tailor argued, looking Cairo up and down.

"Maybe in secret," Cairo muttered, "Why haven't you killed me? Isn't that what you want to do to me right now anyway? Get it over with. Come on, do it!"

"Please," President Tailor scoffed as he ignored the boy's yelling, "You want me to kill you so that Jazmine won't see you like this tomorrow, but I'm going to make sure that she does. The minute that she tries to rescue you, I am going to kill her. Her nappy headed friend will be so hurt that he won't be nearly as skilled as he normally is when he fights. And guess what? He'll die too. All of you can be buried in the same hole under the dust together. How does that sound to you?"

"You won't get away with this you know!" Cairo cried out with the little strength he had, "What goes around comes around! Your time is coming, punk ass bitch nigga!"

"Nigga? I'm white!" President Tailor scoffed.

"You're mixed, black, ¼ Irish! It doesn't matter. You have African blood inside of you just like me! And the fact that you want to kill one of your own over you're insecurities is wrong!" Cairo argued.

"Maybe so, but by tomorrow, you and your little friends won't be there to stop me," Tailor chuckled as he heard the thud on the table behind him. He didn't even have to look behind him to know that Cairo had passed out on the table. How did he know he was mixed? He walked out of the room and walked towards his wife's room in the White House. The boy just didn't understand the way things worked in the world. Sometimes, morals didn't need to exist. Sometimes, thinking without them helped everybody.

"_What goes around comes around. Your time is coming, punk ass bitch nigga!"_

More importantly, why did those words make him feel so guilty?

* * *

So we all see this crazy person Jazmine and Huey have to go up against?

Shoutouts to:

Shellie B and Cruella De' Chelle for reviewing. You guys made me so happy! Yay you two!

Anyways R&R! Seriously, just click that button with the speech bubble next to the words "review this story".

Be on the lookout for Chapter eleven!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Jazmine walked through her house as she traced her lips, reminiscing Huey's lips on hers. She smiled to herself, happy despite the day's very strange drama. The mulatto walked to her room and looked at the white walls of her room. She remembered the old days of being there. Her first argument with Cindy over a guy, who turned out to be a total jerk to both of them, her tears, late night sleepovers, crush talk, boyfriends and break-ups, and awaiting Santa, they all happened in her room. It was her place of sanctuary, the only place she felt safe in. Well, one of the only places, Jazmine smirked as she looked over at her suitcase that she never really unpacked in the first place. She smiled. Thank god for procrastination. She sat for a moment, considering the silence that engulfed the house.

What the hell?

Jazmine's head shot up as she grabbed her suitcase, pulled it out and quietly crept down the stairs. Tom may not have made much noise anymore, but he was still clumsy. Sometimes, the quieter he tried to become would only make him louder. He would snore as he slept, or sing tragic songs about Sarah- not that it was unusual when she was alive. He was always making some sort of noise. His feet could always be heard pattering through the hall. She made it to the bottom step. No television, no bottles, no T.V. dinners were in sight. Jazmine's eyebrow furrowed as she realized that the living room was clean.

"Dad?" Jazmine called out, "Dad?"

Nobody answered.

"Dad! I'm home!" Jazmine tried again.

No sound bounced from the wall.

"Dad!"

"Honey?" A voice called from upstairs, it was groggy and tired sounding.

"Yes, it's me, Dad. Are you okay?" She asked him, coming up the stairs.

"I'm fine honey. You know what? How about you stay down there, and we can watch that movie you like so much? You know the one about the princess, Princess Diaries?" Tom asked.

Jazmine narrowed her eyes as she set the suitcase outside the door and tossed it into the trunk. She stopped liking Princess Diaries about three years ago. Her dad knew that.

"Sure, Daddy! I'll be there in a-"

"Daddy will be there in just ten minutes honey" The voice interrupted.

This was some recorded conversation. That wasn't Tom, but whoever was behind this clearly wanted her dead. She may have held fear, but she wasn't about to show it for some robot. Instead, she listened. It was a beeping noise. Her eyes widened in realization. They were going to blow her house up. The government was going to blow her up. No, she shook her head. She couldn't think like this. Jazmine ran up the stairs and grabbed the box before opening every closet on the way down the stairs. Inside the last one was a trembling and crying Tom, who was gagged. Jazmine just picked him up, tossed him in the car, and whispered hold on before driving away as fast as she could.

* * *

Riley, Cindy, Michael and Huey sat on the couch. Everybody but Huey was pissed. Huey had forced all of them to pack up their stuff for the most boring place on Earth. They all moaned and grumbled under their breath as they ignored the harsh looks from Huey.

"Boy! Come up here and clean this goddamn house! Shit, damn tax deductions, only reason I keep you here!"

Huey's eyebrow rose. He guessed Granddad had actually received medicine or something at the hospital. He shrugged it off. Weird things happened all the time, especially this week.

"Boy! Where the hell is all my food?"

"Damn, that sounds like the first time I got high!" Riley chuckled, "Remember what I said?"

Everybody laughed and recited, "Get yo braids in the sky looking ass in here so you can get beat and fly at the same time!"

"Get yo braids in the sky looking ass in here so you can get beat and fly at the same time!" Granddad's voice repeated.

"What the fuck?" Riley exclaimed as he exchanged a look with Huey.

"Get all our stuff and put it in the car, Riley and take Cindy and put her in the car too. Start it up!" Huey ordered sharply as Riley scurried to his duties, not even bothering to call his brother out with an obscenity.

"Hey man, doesn't your Granddad's voice sound robotic to you?" Caesar winced.

Crap, Caesar was right.

"Shut up Caesar!" Huey said as he realized something.

"Huey, you've lost-"

"Just shut up damn it!" Huey growled as he listened to the small beeping. Shit.

"What is wrong with you?" Caesar shook his head as Huey dragged him out of the door tossed him into the car, and drove towards the nearest exit.

Jazmine was already there with her crying father, who wasn't handling this well at all.

"Mane fool, Jazmine, talk to yo nigga cuz he tripping!" Cindy told her as she laid her head on Riley's trunk as Huey stuck Jazmine's stuff in his trunk before picking up Tom and placing him in the backseat.

"Nothing is wrong with Huey," Jazmine smiled.

"Hell naw, you crazy too? Damn, Jazzy!" Riley shook his head at the girl.

"Boom!" The explosion from their houses made the whole crew silence to turn around and look at the two houses. The heat made everyone recoil and soon everybody found themselves on the ground.

There was a moment of silence before Huey and Jazmine looked at each other, nodding.

"So," Huey spoke up.

"Still think we're crazy?" Jazmine raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Cairo felt groggy as hell again. He was so tired. He didn't know how much longer he could last. He wasn't as brave as he thought. He had thought about betraying Jazmine for his own freedom, but that seemed so wrong. Cairo felt ashamed for being so weak and emotional. He was a traitor. It was not okay. It made him feel ashamed. He was conscious and all he could think about was his own feelings. He had never felt so dead inside before. He had never felt like he had lost all of his hope to live. Even when his father left him, he had Huey and his mother. He thought back to the day his own father left his only child before his mother had ever seen it coming.

_August 11, 2008_

_Four year old Cairo had finally been tucked away into bed. Or that's what his parents thought. He had snuck back down to the living room to watch the Cow and Chicken on Boomerang. He knew he wasn't supposed to be up, but the cartoons on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network sucked, now. He held in his laughter as the chicken made an alarmed face. Cairo heard a loud bang coming from his parents' bedroom and shrugged. This was normal. His parents always fought. As much as he wished they could love each other again, they fought too much. This was all his fault, he frowned. If it wasn't for him, his parents would be happier. He knew that Huey would say it was bound to happen, but he was a preschooler. This wasn't supposed to happen to him! Why couldn't his mommy and daddy just be friends? He sighed softly, snuggling his small face into the couch. He heard a door slam as his father's heavy footsteps announced themselves with small bangs._

"_Son?" His father had been quizzical though he was clearly tired._

_Cairo looked up at him with pleading eyes, but his father was taking suitcases. They were going on a trip!_

"_Where are we going, Daddy?" Cairo looked up at his dad as his big brown eyes began to twinkle._

"_I'm going on a trip?" Cairo grinned, "Am I going to get a t-shirt, and a pen, and a snow globe?"_

"_Yeah, sure," His dad smiled feebly, but even Cairo got the feeling that something was wrong._

"_Daddy, I want to go with you. I don't want you to go. I don't want anything, not even a new snow globe .Just stay with me," Cairo reached his arms upwards as his father whisked past him like he hadn't said anything at all._

"_Daddy, please, please, please don't go. I'm sorry for being bad all the time. I'm sorry for being selfish. I'm sorry for tattling. I'm sorry that I make you and mommy fight all the time," Cairo was crying now._

"_Son, go to bed," His father said without even looking him in the eye._

"_Daddy, I don't want to wake up and you're gone," Cairo whispered, saying aloud his deepest fears._

"_Go to bed," His dad growled, but he didn't look at Cairo. His back was turned._

"_Daddy, please! I love you. Mommy loves you. Don't leave us! Who's going to teach me sports? Who's going to be there when I stop thinking girls are icky to talk me out of it? Who's going to take me places? Daddy, don't leave me!" Cairo had wailed out._

"_Shut-up Cairo! You'll wake your mother!" His father commanded him._

"_Daddy, don't. Please, please, please. I'll go with you! I'll be quiet, and I'll eat all my food. I'll even get a job, Daddy!" Cairo begged his father as he grabbed onto his dad's pants leg, the tears rolled down his face now._

"_Take your high yellow ass to bed, Cairo! Your whore of a mother will find you a new damn daddy, but I can't deal with all of this anymore! I haven't felt like a man in ages! I haven't done shit with my life ever since you came along! It's not your fault, but you are a goddamn obstacle. Between you and your momma fucking around on me, I don't think I can deal with this shit anymore! I know you don't understand, Cairo, but one day you will. Maybe you can forgive me!" His dad had trailed away wondering why it was silent as he finally shut the door and allowed each tear to fall when nobody was looking._

_But Cairo had already run back up the steps after the first three sentences, the tears flowing down his cheeks. He was right. It had been his fault. It would always be his fault. He felt so awful as he finally heard the door slam. He let the shaking take over his body as the salty substance blurred his vision before he dreamed of opening doors that only led to another. _

_Cairo wasn't crying the next day. He was trying to understand his dream as his mother sat quietly with him, picking at her cereal._

_(End of Flashback)_

Cairo couldn't even remember who his father was to this day. Over time, he had forgotten what the man had even looked like. He wished that he had looked at his father before he left him and vice versa. He had gone through life without knowing who he was, or why he left them. Some days, he would hear his mother cry at night when she thought he was asleep, or he would hear a car pull up and look at the window. Time went on and he never showed. Maybe that's why he took Huey's departure so hard. He was so scared of being abandoned again, and when it happened, he freaked out. All the logical sides of him went out the window for a moment. He was so sorry later on for treating Huey the way he did. He hadn't deserved it. He never did.

The pain was getting so rough now that Cairo wasn't sure if he would ever get used to it. He began to thrash on the table wildly with his two feet kicking the table he was on. This hurt worse than the other few times. He was going to die. Cairo was sure of it. He wanted to kill President Tailor. The punk had to give him a drug to make him weak. If there was no pain, he would have laughed, but this hurt like nothing else ever had. He felt like his lungs were about to explode and his back was broken. HEe gritted his teeth as the tears rolled down his face. He wanted to die. He really wanted to die. He noticed a red substance seeping from his legs. His blood. Cairo watched President Tailor smile as he felt himself pass out again.

"What goes around," Cairo began before he passed out.

Tailor looked away, not needing to know the rest.

* * *

"Mane fool, what the hell is going on?" Riley cried out, "This is some secret agent bullshit? Aw hell yeah my nigga Huey ain't gay after all! Yeaa!"

Huey rolled his eyes; leave it to Riley to get excited about this sort of thing.

"You think this is cool?" Mr. Dubois whimpered as he teared up again, "I could have lost my little girl in there!"

"And, I could've lost my life too! Packing with Huey!" Michael pointed out as his dreads shook in agreement.

"Mr. Dubois, everybody calm down," Huey spoke as everybody's ears perked up to hear what he had to say, "The government wants people in this group dead, and they've already succeded in doing so with one."

Mr. Dubois looked at Jazmine as her green eyes shone with determination that he had never seen in her before.

"Jazmine, Sarah?" Thomas was definitely confused, "They want them?"

"Well, yes," Huey took a deep breath as he avoided Jazmine's gaze, "But she's not the only one they want. They aren't the only people their after."

"Ahahaha! I'm glad I'm not on that bitch ass list!" Riley cackled.

"Actually, you are on this list," He held up the sheet of paper,"As a matter of fact, you're number twenty two."

Riley froze as his own eyes widebed.

"You're number one then?" Mr. Dubois asked as he looked at Jazmine again, his eyes watering.

"No, I'm actually sixteen," Huey said as he looked in the eyes with sadness in his eyes after a long pause.

"Then, who is number one?" Cindy spoke up as they looked at the fire behind them, not trusting themselves enough to look at the other.

"Is it me?" Jazmine piped up. Her eyes were calm. They showed no visible signs of fear, but Huey knew that she was even when she did try to put up a brave front.

"Yes," He spoke gravely, but Jazmine didn't take it personally she knew that he meant well. He didn't want to lie to her anymore, and he could tell that she got the message.

"So only three people's lives are in danger?" Cindy asked as she looked around them.

"Not necessarily," Huey shook his head, "Tailor's administration could use people close to us as pawns. Honestly, nobody is safe."

"So what?" Tom's eyes narrowed, "Are we going to do?"

"We could attempt to shut it down at the source. However, it would involve assassination, bomb work, blackmail, or some other means of destruction. We would have to go to the White House," Huey spoke up.

"And Jazmine? You expect me to let her be involved with this?" Tom hardened his gaze.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter to me whether you allow it or not," Jazmine shrugged.

"Jazmine, now is not the time to play hero! You're in danger! I can't lose you too!" cried.

"Dad, I'm doing this, and you're not going to stop me. I love you, but-"

"You love Huey more?" Tom's eyes narrowed even more.

"Daddy, please," Jazmine softened her tone.

"Did you sleep with him? Did you tell him you loved him?" Tom wailed.

"Dad, that's enough!No I haven't slept with Huey. Yes, Huey and I have feelings for one another, but that has nothing to do with this! I'm fighting for my country, for you, for my children, for my grandchildren," Jazmine persisted.

"Dang, she told you!" Riley grinned as he nodded his head in respect.

"But..but…okay" Tom sighed as he held his head in defeat.

"So what do we do now?" Cindy spoke again.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from behind them. Everybody but a crying Mr. Dubois got into stance as they got into formation. Huey crept down as he placed his katana behind the small of his back. The footsteps grew closer. All of them turned around and drooped right back down, glaring at their intruder, Uncle Ruckus.

"Ruckus! What the hell is wrong with you?" Huey exclaimed.

"Shit, ain't nothing wrong with a great white man such as myself," Ruckus chuckled, "You supposed to be one of the smarter jungle bunnies!"

"Ruckus, I'm not in the mood," Huey warned him, his tone was cryptic.

"What I wanna know is why all ya darkies is out in the middle of the night like you have work to do. All you do is drink and sleep anyway!" Ruckus exclaimed as his bulging eyes stared them down.

"That's the life right there!" Riley smiled.

"Riley, shut up!" Cindy shouted.

"Ahh, that's what happens to darkies like you who find themselves with the sweet white woman," Ruckus made hand gestures as he pointed at Cindy, "They start visualizing what can be done, the sweey nectar, and they start staring at what they can never have."

"Everything I look at is what I got!" Riley argued.

Riley just shook his head. This old nigga was crazy anyway. Huey started to walk away with Jazmine, and soon, the whole crew followed suit.

Ruckus pulled out a shiny pistol and pointed it towards Riley, "Where you think you going, you damn monkey?"

Riley was about to shove Ruckus into the ground himself, but Jazmine beat him to it as she shoved him into a headlock and retrieved the gun. Ruckus squirmed uncomfortably as the young mulatto kept him there before shoving him down the hill.

"I had that shit! I could've beat a nigga down! Shit, sixteen year olds can handle this shit too! I'm young Reezy! Escobar runs this!" Riley beat on his chest.

"If you say so…"Jazmine averted her eyes from the scene.

Huey stood behind her, smirking.

"You may want to save all that energy you know," Huey's afro bobbed with his words.

"Nah, I don't think so." Jazmine grinned.

"Really?" Huey returned the smile.

"Really, but there is one way to get my energy back if you're up for it." Jazmine suggested slyly.

"Hmmm," Huey said before seizing her lips for a moment.

"Hey! Isn't it time to go?" Cindy asked as she watched the two break apart.

"Yeah! I mean I'm glad ya'll two are together and shit, but a nigga ready to fight? Ya heard me?" Riley cried out.

"They're right," Jazmine whispered before pecking him again.

Huey rolled his eyes at her before lagging behind, watching her walk from behind.

"Like what you see?" Jazmine smirked.

Huey didn't say anything. Instead, he picked up the keys, opened Jazmine's door after practically prying Riley out of the front seat, and allowed her to sit. After doing so, he put slowly put the key in the ignition and smirked at Jazmine, keeping his thoughts to himself. After all, he liked what he saw very much, and if a certain president in D.C. tried to block his view, he would do everything in his power to get them out of the way.

Huey looked back at his friends beside him before driving towards the nearest interstate. He took a deep breath as he sent a silent prayer up to the higher being above him for the second time in his life before looking at the road again. He was ready for this, all of it.

"Ewww Riley farted!" Caesar made a face.

"Brooklyn!" Caesar announced and noted the looks from everybody, "Sorry."

Even that.

* * *

So…that was chapter 11! Yay? Nay? Review and let me know!

Shoutouts to:

Crazy Brunette

Shellie B

And…Cruella De Chelle (who inboxed me too) for reviewing! I think you guys have a little reviewing pattern going on! You guys are awesome!

Also, thank you to deon377 for adding this story to your favorites list! Yes, I smiled.

That's it! Stay on the lookout! Espescially now that I'm on spring break! Hint-hint!

Bye!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Huey Freeman was pissed. They had a thirteen hour road trip going to D.C. going on, and the passengers in his car were already acting like they had lost their minds after three hours. Riley kept whining about stopping at a rest room. Thomas Dubois continued to cry as though he wasn't the oldest member of the group. Michael Caesar, his best friend, even managed to annoy him by shouting out, "Brooklyn!" at the most irrelevant times. Even Jazmine was annoying him right now, humming along with almost every single song on the radio. Plus, Cindy just irked his nerves period. The least they could do was go to sleep, which was exactly what he asked them to do.

"Hell no! Do I look five to you?" Cindy asked after she lifted from Riley's chest.

"Mane what?" Riley cried out in his annoyed tone.

"I'm just saying that you need your rest," Huey sighed.

"Need our rest? We could die!" started hyperventilating for about the third time.

"Daddy," Jazmine snapped, "Nobody is going to die." She felt bad for not telling him that there actually was a possibility that would happen, but she knew her father couldn't handle knowing that. He couldn't even handle knowing that he was in imminent danger by association.

"We are!" Tom argued back.

"Stop it!" Huey spat angrily, "I'm trying to drive. Now listen. Nobody is going to die due to any government officials. If anybody dies, it will be because I finally killed you!"

"Nigga you gay! Shit, I'm going to sleep! All these gay ass niggas and shit!" Riley announced.

"Me, as well,"Tom announced as everybody sighed in relief, "What did you guys do that for?"

"I guess I will too," Jazmine began but paused when she saw Huey's eyes protest.

"And I'm gon sleep too! So me and my man can dream together!" Cindy snuggled closer to a grimacing Riley.

"I'll just," Caesar looked around him, "Mane! I'm going to sleep!"

After about an hour of silence, everybody but Huey and Jazmine had fallen asleep. Aside from the fact that quite a considerable amount of their passengers were snoring, the two found tranquility in the sound of their sleeping friends.

"Well, I-" Jazmine started to speak but Huey stopped her.

"I just wanted to ask you something before we do this," Huey said while keeping his eye on the road.

"You know I'm all ears, unless this is about me not fighting" Jazmine answered him with a sharp tone in a whisper.

"Why do you like me?" Huey blurted out before he could take it back.

"What?" Jazmine hadn't really expected this.

"Why do you like me?" Huey asked again as he sped up a little.

"Why wouldn't I?" Jazmine answered after a moment of thinking.

"Jazmine, I've always been an ass to you. Even when we were younger, I spent the majority of our friendship avoiding you like you were some sort of bubonic plague or something. I made you cry, and you told me how much you hated me. How in the hell could you like somebody like me?" Huey asked.

"Huey you weren't always an ass. I mean, yes, you had your moments, but I knew that you were only trying to help me. Besides, after every tear I shed, I came out fine," Jazmine shrugged, "And as for the avoiding me part, I just always thought that you thought I had cooties or something. I always thought you would grow out of it."

"Yeah, cooties," Huey snorted, "More like STDs."

"Anyways," Jazmine rolled her eyes at Huey's statement, "I guess you were different. Even though we were both kids, you treated me like an adult. You expected more from me than most adults did. Plus, you were actually pretty cute even if you did frown all the time as a kid."

"Wow, so you only liked me for my adolescent body," Huey said, though there was a hint of a small smile playing on his lips.

"Well, actually, I didn't notice it that much until we were about fifteen," Jazmine replied seriously.

"What?" Huey's eyes widened. He could have sworn that Jazmine had been checking him out at thirteen years old.

"Yeah, you were still mowing the lawn and stuff. One day I watched you from the window, and I was just like 'Wow, Huey is hot!'" Jazmine nodded enthusiastically.

"So you stalked me?" Huey was amused by the look on Jazmine's face. Some things never changed.

"No, that's not what I said," Jazmine finally replied as red completely shaded her cheek.

"Really?" Huey shot her a look.

"Huey!" Jazmine hissed back.

"Jazmine!" Huey rose an eyebrow holding back in his laughter as he studied her angry face. How in the hell did she get sexier?

"Look, the point is I really, really like you, " Jazmine told him before turning around.

"Just really, really huh?" Huey muttered.

"Huh?" Jazmine asked him before traveling off to sleep.

"Nothing," Huey said shaking his head.

* * *

Riley Freeman sat in the back of his brother's car. Huey had warned him that Granddad could be in danger – or dead. He hung his head down in shame. He and Granddad always fought, but he loved him. He and Granddad always had some sort of mutual respect. Even when Granddad beat his butt, he knew he could come to him for anything. Shit, he was realer than most of the other cats in the cut that he knew of. He had left Granddad to fucking die. That was cold man. Even if he didn't know it, even if he didn't get along with him all the time, even if he hated looking at that man's bare butt cheeks glistening in his face because he thought it was sexy, that didn't mean that he wanted him to get buried six feet under.

He didn't know how this was supposed to work either, them going to D.C. And behind all the cuss words and the antics, he prayed to God that everybody knew how he felt about them before they all died. He didn't want any of them getting hurt, not even Mr. Dubois' punk self. He knew that Huey would call him weak for even mentioning prayer in a sentence or even being worried, but Riley didn't care. He wasn't going out of this world without them knowing that he actually cared about them. And Cindy, he sighed deeply as he looked at her sleeping form, he had gotten on Huey's case about not telling Jazmine his true feelings, but he hadn't really told Cindy's his. In the past year, they had done it all together, and he couldn't even tell her how he truly felt about her. He loved her too much. He had wanted to wait, but now he wasn't even sure if he had time anymore.

When had things gone so wrong? Riley looked out the window before him, shaking his head. Why did things have to be this way? They were on the run for their lives, and he felt like crying or withering away against some wall, but he couldn't. He had to stay strong because he was a man. He couldn't show any signs of weakness. He was the one people were supposed to look up to. He wondered how in the hell Huey kept up with that revolutionary stuff because he knew that he couldn't do it. He felt unlucky as hell. He didn't even think that anybody could read his own brain because he locked it up. He had even lied about his ACT scores being a nineteen composite because his real scores weren't gangster enough for him to prosper on the streets. He had really gotten a thirty four his very first time. He didn't know what the big deal was. It was really just reading and shit. Nobody had even doubted his fake story either. He didn't know how to feel about that. He knew that he behaved as though he had no sense, but that didn't mean that he wasn't bright or anything. He just hated showing everybody else. They thought they could use a smart nigga. Colleges didn't care about him or his smarts half the time. They cared about the percentage increase to their own diversity rate. And his brother thought he didn't listen to him.

He listened a lot. He just sat back and watched. Riley had figured out the difference between his brother and himself a long time ago. He just never said anything when bad things happened. Some people needed to learn stuff on their own. Like Jazmine, for instance, the girl had been naïve as hell. Sometimes, she still could be. Huey always felt the need to tell her the truth unnecessarily. Everybody gave Huey credit for turning Jazmine into the hard ass chick she was now, but in reality, she had done it on her own after Sarah died. She had finally forced herself to be strong. Then again, did she really have a choice? He felt bad for the girl too. He knew what it was like to lose his mother. It hurt him real bad. For a minute, he wouldn't eat or sleep alone. He would run to her room to say good morning as a little kid and realize that she wasn't there. It had been one of the worst downfalls of his life. And Huey, at age seven, had taken it worst of all.

Contrary to popular belief, Huey had smiled and laughed once. The nigga had always been smart as hell too. His head was always stuck in a book when he wasn't playing with Cairo. Then, their momma had died that day in the car accident with their father. Losing one parent had been a painful, but when their mother had died the next day in the ICU despite all the prayers, Huey had declared his faith in god diminished. He never smiled again. Riley wasn't old enough to just really understand everything, but he did understand that his mom was never coming back and it hurt. On days like Mothers Day and Father's Day, he couldn't give his parents anything but flowers on their graves. He always felt jealous of the other kids who whined about their parents grounding them or some other little ass shit. At least their parents were alive! He knew Huey felt the same way.

"I know you're up, Riley." Huey told him as Riley snapped out of his trance.

"Oh." Riley couldn't think of much else to say.

"Look, about Granddad, we'll find him. I promise you that," Huey said as his fist clenched the wheel tightly.

Riley didn't know what to say.

"If we don't then it's my fault," Huey continued as he looked towards the street,"I just wanted you to know that-"

"Me too," Riley agreed without saying the three words aloud that they both wanted to say, "But we in this together. Not that Granddad ass gon die. Probably slipped his ass out of they hands anyway. All that damn body butter he put on," Riley joked.

"So..you lied huh?" Huey spoke up after a good twenty minutes of awkward silence.

"About what?" Riley asked him, confused.

"Your scores," Huey turned around to look at his brother.

"What about em?" Riley returned the gaze with a stubborn defiance that Huey knew all too well. He was just like his father sometimes.

"What about em?" Huey chuckled, "You got higher than I did! You got a 34!"

"Shhhhh! Don't say that aloud. People might think differently of me. My reputation might get ruined." Riley said shaking his hands with his words.

"That may not be a bad thing." Huey shrugged before he turned towards the opposite direction, leaving Riley to ponder his words.

Riley had grabbed a sketch pad and started drawing. His brother knew he was smart. He didn't think he was stupid. He felt like he had worth or something. Maybe his brother was right. Maybe a different swagger was needed. It wasn't like he had anything better in store for himself lately. The Bloods and the Crips were both some punks. The world had slammed him down way to many times to count, and he had way too many criminal charges for somebody his age. As he thought of all this, he scrawled two names in the corner of the photograph, R.I.P Renae Louise Smith Freeman and Hubert Percy Freeman. He let the tear roll down his eye as he drifted off towards dreamland.

* * *

"Robert Jebediah Freeman, we've been expecting you," The president chuckled.

"Who in the hell are you?" Robert exclaimed, stunned.

"You don't know who I am?" Tailor was actually stunned for once. How old was this man?

"No, and where am I?" Robert asked, confused.

Tailor felt like slapping the information back in the old man's head. He had explained this to the man at least a million times. He was really trying to be patient, but patience only got you so far. Sometimes, you had to act wrong to get the proper results. Robert Freeman was no exception.

"The interrogation room," Tailor rolled his eyes.

"Mane for what? Shit, everybody lies on they social security forms once in a while. I'm sure I'm not the first person to do it!" Granddad protested.

Tailor's eyebrows rose. People still did that?

"And yeah, I stole that one little candy bar from the store, but I didn't mean to. Honest!" Granddad laughed.

What the hell? Tailor ignored his better judgment and sniffed the man. Whoo! This dude was unbelievably high. It was a wonder that he wasn't floating on the table. He didn't know whether to laugh or beat the crap out of this man. He was holding him up. He only had about seven hours left before those damn kids got here, and Robert was just taking up his space. On the other hand, he could just use him as another distraction. He could buy him some time. After all, it wasn't like it would take a lot of work. The old fool could float his happy bohemian looking self to the room with Cairo for all he really knew. It wouldn't take him a lot of work.

"I know who you are," Robert told him matter of factly. He looked at him over the rims of his glasses at a shocked President Tailor.

"Doesn't everybody?" President Tailor quickly recovered. This man was old as dirt. There was no way in hell that he could remember who he really was.

"You that boy's daddy!" Robert shook his head in disappointment at the man, "I ain't that old or high boy. I practically helped raise yo' ungrateful ass. This has got to stop, Shawn."

"Those drugs finally settling in aren't they?" Tailor sneered even though he knew exactly what Robert was speaking of.

"You know exactly what the hell I'm talking about, Shawn. That boy went through some sort of pure hell after you left. The little baby adored you and his momma, and what did you do? You walked out of his momma's life- and his too!" The man's eyes were red, no doubt from whatever he had been smoking, but in reality, President Tailor knew he was right.

"Who is Shawn?" The president attempted to play dumb.

"Boy, keep on playing with me, and I swear to god I will beat your high yellow uppity negroe ass up and down until you turn purple and blue. Shit! You done blown up my house with the good porn in it! And you took my goddamn stash of weed? Shawn, stop being a bitch ass nigga and admit it. You know who we're talking about. Your son?" Granddad rose an eyebrow at him for emphasis.

"Is the past. Him and his whore of a mother," Tailor growled angrily.

"So because of his Mom's mistakes you walked out on him too?" Grandad shook his head,"Do you realize what he went through without you?"

"He turned out just fine," President Tailor snorted, "And since we may all die tomorrow, I just want you to know that the boy is much stronger than me. I know that much. He's way more of a man than I'll ever be. And sadly, I just don't care. I don't know whether to kill his ass or not. Part of me knows that he's my son, and I love him. Another part of me looks into his brown eyes and sees his whore of a mother. So what the hell do you want me to do? I think I hate his ass either way. And he had a mouth on him too! How did his mother deal with it?"

"First, all of us ain't dying tomorrow, so get that out of your head now. Second, his mother dealt with it by getting off her behind and doing what she had to do, which was raisng her son. Now, that may not be what you want to hear, but that's what she did. She got up and did what you couldn't. Excuse me, uppity nigga, she did what you wouldn't. How would America feel if they knew you walked out on your son? What kind of asshole does that? Cairo never ever forgave you either. In a way, he blames himself. Shit, it's your fault somehow. I know it is. I don't know what you told him before you left, but I know in my heart that he was the last person that saw you before you ran to parts unknown." Grandad said,

"Robert, I didn't. Not that it matters, I don't have anything to explain to you anyway," President Tailor's answer was final.

"Of course not. You have to answer to yourself first boy," Granddad was making a lot of sense for a high dude. He placed his hand on Tailor's shoulder. Tailor was about to tell him what really happened that night, but before he could, Robert Jebediah had fallen asleep on the table.

He thought back to the night of his departure from his old life. The night he had left his own son in tears.

_August 11, 2008_

"_Baby, I'm home," Shawn Anderson had nudged his wife._

"_That's nice baby. We should just sleep, you know?" She asked._

"_Or we could, maybe fool around? Cairo's asleep you know." He traced a pattern around her body._

"_No, I'm tired, Shawn." She said, but her voice told him much more than that._

_She never wanted to do anything with him anymore. It had been almost a year since they had been intimate, and Lauren, his wife, acted like he disgusted her. She never even looked at him anymore. He had felt their marriage breaking apart for so long. He didn't know if he could even fix it at this point._

"_You're always tired, Lauren." He muttered angrily._

"_And what do you want me to do, huh?" Lauren had snapped as she suddenly had a very quick energy boost for such a tired person._

"_I just want us to be the way we used to be Lauren. I want us to fix this distance between us," He was begging her. He was basically handing her his ego at the moment._

"_But you can't. You aren't man enough to do it. You're always at work, and you expect me to be some goddamn stay at home mom or some shit!" Lauren had shrieked as she rose from the bed and paced._

"_Lauren, I can't take time off. You know that. I'm lucky to have a job as it is," Shawn was pleading with her now._

"_Lucky? You call this lucky? This is a joke! I never ever see you! I have dreams too you know! This is all your fault. If you hadn't have got me pregnant, I would be successful." She rolled her neck at him, and he wanted nothing more than to smack it back into place._

"_Lauren, you were the one who said you wanted to watch Cairo, remember?" Shawn reasoned._

"_And? I thought it would be temporary, but I guess I was wrong, huh?" His wife turned away from him._

"_But you love spending time with Cairo!" Shawn objected as he wondered if his wife was pregnant again. Oh, they hadn't been intimate for over a year, so that was out of the window._

"_I just don't think this is working out the way we planned," Lauren continued as she bit on her lip and turned around as she noticed what Shawn was staring at, "I can explain."_

"_It's a goddamn condom in our bed?" Shawn was so angry that he had to haul his arms back from hitting Lauren now._

"_Baby,"_

"_Baby? Baby? Oh please! It's a fucking condom. No, it's three! Three fucking condoms?" He picked up the lamp and threw it into the air, not caring where it landed._

"_Honey, I'm sorry, I was going to tell you," Lauren was sobbing her butt off now._

"_No, you weren't," Shawn laughed bitterly, "Was it good? Did he treat you like the whore you are?"_

"_Yes, he did!" Lauren shot back, "He tried every position in the book, and I did too! I felt good for once in my life. He makes me feel amazing every single day that you're not here to do that for me! He's so manly. God, I love it when he just fucks me like the goddamn whore I am," She cackled._

"_What the hell had gotten into you?" Shawn shouted as he took a portrait of their album and threw that too._

"_A real dick," Lauren said matter of factly._

"_Go to hell," Shawn spat angrily as he grabbed his suitcase._

"_So you just gone walk out on me, huh?" Lauren took the bottle of alcohol he had practically inhaled out of his hand as she looked into his eyes and he could see that in a way she was truly sorry. Too bad that wasn't enough._

"_Yes, I am," He moved past her and opened the bedroom door, but she threw herself at him and started kicking and screaming and begging him not to leave._

"_Let me go!" He demanded._

"_No! You're not leaving us," Lauren told him._

_He looked into her eyes, "Watch me."_

_This time she didn't stop him as he walked out of the door._

_He walked downstairs and caught his son Cairo downstairs._

"_Son? " He asked him._

"_Where are we going, Daddy?" Cairo had asked him as he gestured toward the suitcase with his little hands._

_He hadn't answered._

"_Are we going on a trip?" Cairo had asked him, "Am I going to get a t-shirt, a pen, and a snow globe?"_

"_Yeah, sure," Shawn had offered him some sort of weak smile._

"_Daddy, I want to go with you," That's all that he heard. The rest of it was muffled._

"_Daddy, please, please, please don't go," Cairo had begged him. His arms reached out for him, and Shawn had to turn away before he caved in._

"_Daddy, I don't want to wake up and you're gone." Cairo was persistent. That made this harder._

"_Go to bed, son," He told Cairo, trying to keep his voice strong for all of them._

"_Daddy, don't. Please, please, please. I'll go with you! I'll be quiet, and I'll eat all my food. I'll even get a job, Daddy!" Cairo begged his father as he grabbed onto his dad's pants leg, the tears rolled down his face now._

"_Take your high yellow ass to bed, Cairo! Your whore of a mother will find you a new damn daddy, but I can't deal with all of this anymore! I haven't felt like a man in ages! I haven't done shit with my life ever since you came along! It's not your fault, but you are a goddamn obstacle. Between you and your momma fucking around on me, I don't think I can deal with this shit anymore! I know you don't understand, Cairo, but one day you will. Maybe you can forgive me!" His dad had trailed away wondering why it was silent as he finally shut the door and allowed each tear to fall when nobody was looking._

_He never got the chance to tell his son how sorry he was, and at the rate his life was going, he never would. _

* * *

Haha! Told ya I'd be back! Like chapter twelve.

Shout Out to:

Shellie B. Thanks chica!

R&R peeps! Be on the lookout for chapter 13!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Jazmine Dubois shivered as they crossed the border into Washington, D.C. Was she scared? She thought about it for a moment as she hugged the coat closer to her small body. She was in a way, she supposed. However, many people lived in fear of things every day. Was she really some exception? She shook her head in the gas station, looking at her reflection that hung upon the dingy white of the bathroom wall. Was she really going to die today? Her green eyes watered at the thought. Eighteen seemed so young to give up everything you ever knew to go somewhere you knew nothing about, and in a way, that's what death was. She didn't know for sure where she would end up. She wasn't one hundred percent sure whether she would end up in heaven or hell. What she did know, however, was that nothing was promised. Life could fuck you over again and again, and you wouldn't even realize it had happened until you opened your own eyes to see it. Nobody enjoyed doing it. She hated it more than people knew, but it was a necessary evil. Being strong was never some sort of game to Jazmine. It was her only choice. She felt alone even when her own mother was alive. She had finally recognized the truth. Sadly, the only person who she could count on was herself. The only person who she could truly rely on to catch her when she fucked up was herself. Even if it wasn't on purpose, everybody would eventually leave her behind, so she had to be smart and make sure that she was always on beat.

Jazmine looked at her long hair that she had braided flat to her head so that nobody could pull it out. At one point in time, she would have thought that it was ugly. Now, it made her feel powerful, queenly. What had she been thinking? She was perfect the way she was. She always had been. Why couldn't she have seen that before? Her green eyes shone as the braids curved down her back. She was a professional braider now. Well, after doing Riley's for so long, she considered herself one. She felt amazing. She felt confident, and she glowed. Her hair had never been a curse, and nappy didn't mean bad at all. She knew girls who got a kinky weave because it added a unique texture to their hair. Her long braids glowed too. She didn't whether it was the sunlight or the love and admiration she had finally found herself that caused it, and she didn't care. She loved herself. She really did. For the first time in her life, she felt that she fit somewhere in this Earth. Jazmine belonged. She had always felt so ugly. She had always wished that she could be something that she wasn't. Now, she understood that it was actually silly to want such a thing. She was beautiful. She had always been beautiful. Her hair was an enhancement of that. Now, she understood what Huey had meant when he had told her about her hair oh so long ago.

_April 13, 2012_

_Two young children with very noticeable afros sat on the hill. Huey Freeman was a little older at the age of ten, but Jazmine was still nine. They sat quietly as Huey read his book as Jazmine looked at the sky. She felt so different from everybody else. She was white and black? Was she black and white? Her green eyes studied the scene in front of her. It was beautiful. The sky was blue, perfect as the breeze gently ruffled her hair. She shifted as she contemplated saying what was really on her mind. After all, Huey was her friend, but he wasn't really nice. Plus, he always made fun of her afro. She couldn't be sure that he wouldn't do it again. She thought really hard. Huey was really, really smart. He always did seem to know what to say. Maybe, just maybe he wouldn't call her stupid or immature again. He already clearly thought she had the cooties. Her green eyes slanted from the glare of the sun before she sighed loudly. Huey immediately looked up from his book, annoyed. What did Jazmine want now?_

"_I hate my hair. It's too big and puffy. I want it to be like my mommy's. My hair's just too ugly." Jazmine told Huey as she sighed again. She expected him to go into detail about why afro-whatever was very important and how she should love her hair. He said something else._

"_Look at those clouds over there," He told Jazmine as he watched her do so._

"_Huh?" Jazmine was confused, "No, that's not what I was talking about."_

"_What do you think of them?" Huey asked her_

"_Well, they're pretty, and puffy. They actually look kinda soft," Jazmine chuckled, "They're like pillows or the fur on a kitty only a little puffier, but it's okay! They look prettier that way! But you didn't answer my question"_

" _Hmmm.." Huey said before he went back to reading his book._

"_You don't get it do you, Huey?" Jazmine glared at him as she sighed dramatically for the thousandth time._

_Huey simply raised an eyebrow, "Neither do you."_

_End of Flashback_

Jazmine's eyes watered as she finally realized what Huey had meant all these years. He had always loved her hair. She had just been too busy hating her hair to realize it. She had to find him. She had to tell him that she finally understood. For now, she just finished braiding Cindy's hair tight against her head, making it look pretty, or as Riley put it, "Straight gangsta".

* * *

Huey Freeman was giving all of his passengers a bathroom break. He told them to come back in ten minutes. Sounds reasonable right?

He had been standing there for at least thirty. Jazmine and Cindy were in the bathroom giggling about who knew what, and Riley was arguing with the lady at the register about the price of all that junk food he had picked up. Michael was still in the restroom, and Huey was already ready to go. He hated gas stations. They were filled with creeps and faces that he just really didn't want to see that much. Besides that, his passengers were the creeps. The only normal dude was Mr. Dubois, and he was so sad that Huey wanted to smack a smile back onto his face. All he wanted was to leave. Too bad that wasn't going to happen.

Then, Jazmine Dubois walked out of the restroom, and Huey couldn't remember what he was pissed about for a minute. She was glowing, and she looked regal, like a crown belonged at the top of her braids. He wanted to grab her, lock her in a closet, and just do whatever. Huey grimaced at his thoughts. He hated feeling like this over some woman. He hated not being able to control his emotions fully, yet at the same time, he loved it. More importantly, he loved her. He wanted to tell her. Really, he did, but Jazmine would have plenty of time to hear it. He would make sure of that.

"Huey, I get it! I get it!" Jazmine's green eyes were so mesmerizing at the moment that Huey had to fidget to remember that it was his turn to respond. Her arms were flung around his neck, her body close to his. He'd forgotten how innocent she could be. She honestly had no idea what she was doing to him. Did she?

"Get what?" He managed to make his voice smooth as he eased his way back towards her eyes, making sure to pull back just a little.

"What you said about my hair!" Jazmine was squealing so loudly now that people in the gas station were staring at them.

"And that would be?" Huey raised his eyebrow as he looked at her again before gulping. Why did he have to be so attracted to her?

"How I hated my hair? And you told me to look at the clouds, and I said they were soft and pretty. And you didn't say anything." Jazmine was jumping now.

"And?" Huey didn't see where this was going.

"And! And I yelled at you for not answering my question-"

"Jazmine, can you get to the point? I really want to leave this year !" Huey spat back.

"Well, if you let me finish, you would know the point," Jazmine spat back before continuing, "Because I answered my own question! My hair was beautiful all along! And you knew that too! You weren't making fun of me! You were actually trying to get me to see what I was missing out on!"

"And it only took you about eight years to finally get that," He whispered in her ear, not sure if he could say anything else.

"Yep!" Jazmine chuckled before kissing him softly and stopping, "I'm in control!"

"In control?" He raised his two eyebrows again before pushing her against the wall, and kissing her rough and then soft, slowly, "I don't think so. Only I can be in control."

"Whatever you say," Jazmine said against the wall before realizing that she was actually still in the gas station.

"That's what I love to hear," Huey smirked before noticing the dirty glances from a few customers in the store.

"Shit yeah! That's how you handle em' big bruh!" Riley cheered.

"Damn, Jazmine. You might have me and Riley! Sike!" Cindy laughed.

"Whatever, Cindy," Jazmine chuckled before pinning the braids upward.

They walked back towards the car before realizing that they were missing a very important passenger.

"Hey, where's Tom?" Caesar spoke up

"I'll go get him," Huey growled, pissed.

"Damn, that dumb ass nigga probably got lost!"

"Riley, my daddy is not dumb! You take that back," Jazmine argued.

"Well, actually," Caesar started but quickly backed off when he noticed the fired in Jazmine's eyes.

"Actually what?" Jazmine asked him as if she would kill him if he dared open his own mouth.

"Nothing. It was a mistake," Caesar shook his head.

"Mane, I am not scared of Jazzy frizzy haired ass!" Riley declared as he rolled his eyes.

"What?" Jazmine growled turning in her seat towards Riley.

"You heard me," He smirked as he lifted from his seat to get in Jazmine's face, "What are you going to do about it?"

* * *

Huey Freeman walked back towards the gas station and found that Tom wasn't there. He couldn't wait to find him and punch the snot out of his nose. God, how stupid was a lawyer going to be? He didn't care that his wife died and he felt all alone. Huey had known how hard it was to be alone since he was seven years old. Tom had just been through it for two months. Even Jazmine had found a way to cope, sniffling and withering wasn't going to help anybody. He walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Look, Tom, if you don't find your way outside that stall in ten seconds!"

Suddenly, Huey found himself surrounded by guns and a smirking president.

" Damn! I hate Christmas Eve!" He announced as he crouched into stance.

"You want to make this easy and just give up?" The president offered a half smile.

"Now you should really know better than that," Huey told the president as he threw a man threw the wall.

* * *

Jazmine Dubois had tied Riley into the back of the car. He was still struggling. Caesar would have laughed if he hadn't considered Jazmine a liable candidate to tie him up too. He held in his laughter as best as he could. Then, he noticed that people were running away from the gas station. It was almost like shots were being fired or something.

"Jazmine?" He spoke.

"What?" She snapped before turning to face him.

Michael flinched. She really was angry.

"I think something's wrong," He said as he pointed towards the gas station.

Jazmine didn't respond. She simply grabbed the three machine guns from Riley's pocket and sped towards the door. Michael untied Riley who gave Cindy the keys before quickly following behind them. The gas station was crazy. People were screaming, running towards the door as though it was there only hope. And to think they only came here to pee.

"What the hell is going on?" Jazmine yelled out as she banged out another shelf.

"Jazmine, calm down," Riley spoke without using ebonics for once.

"Hell, no!" Jazmine kicked down the men's bathroom door as she shrunk back for a moment . Each government official had gunned her boyfriend down, and they were looking at her.

"Hello, my pretty girl," Tailor's smile made Jazmine feel nauseated to say the least, but she kept her poker face plastered on her face.

"Hello, punk ass bitch," Jazmine walked past the guns and towards Huey like she wasn't scared at all, "Care to explain to me why my boyfriend is being gunned down?"

"You mean Cairo?" He snarled as Jazmine's eyes widened in fear, "No, he's not here, or were you to busy whoring around with here to notice?"

"Shut up!" Jazmine snarled right back as she moved towards Tailor despite his mass of body guards.

"Or were you too busy almost committing suicide again Jazmine?" Tailor started walking towards her as well, "All those pills, and that big dose of morphine. It's a good thing Cairo saved you, and how do you repay him? You practically fuck Freeman over there on the walls!"

"You're sick," Jazmine sneered as she came one step closer to Tailor.

"Oh really? Well, at least I know it," Tailor told her, "I mean it only took you a month to fuck Cairo. How long would it take for you to fuck me? A week or two?"

"Tailor, I swear," Huey grumbled.

"You don't want to hurt me, Jazmine," President Tailor grinned as he touched her shoulder, "God, your skin is just so soft. No wonder boys love to grope it."

"This isn't even about me, Tailor" Jazmine narrowed her eyes.

"But it is!" Tailor shouted with glee as he jumped into the air with such joy that nobody said anything.

"Jazmine, get out of here, now!" Huey looked at her. He was begging her.

"No, I'm not leaving you!" She cried out as the guns remained attached to his body. The cold steel numbing his brain but not his spirit as Jazmine glared at him.

"Jazmine I mean it! Get out of here right now!" Huey was desperate now.

"Ahh young fucked up love," President Tailor smiled, "Ain't it grand?"

"Shut up!" Huey and Jazmine shouted at the man.

"Jazmine, listen, get out of here," Huey groaned.

"That's right girl," Tailor looked into her green eyes to be sure that she got the message, "Leave him here to die."

Jazmine slammed all the body guards past Tailor and onto the ground. She easily tied each of them up as she collected each and every gun from them. She slammed Tailor against the wall as he made some sort of signal. The sound of clicking noises from behind Jazmine concurred with her thoughts. They had their guns toward her now. She pulled her own towards Tailor, ready to blow his brains out.

"Jazmine, you don't want to do this," Tailor spoke to her as if he were speaking to a small child.

Jazmine pushed his head into the wall so hard that blood withdrew from his head. He muttered a few obscenities before attempting to break from her firm iron grasp.

"Let him go, Tailor" Jazmine whispered.

"I wouldn't dare," Tailor chuckled as his creepy laughter filled the room. He looked even more demented now than ever. The blood dripped down his face. He felt powerful at last.

She pushed his head into the wall with so much force Tailor almost blocked out.

"Stop it! You'll kill me!" Tailor was shocked by the young girl's strength.

"And you say that like it'll really stop me!" Jazmine laughed. This man was funny.

"Jazmine, you're not a killer," Tailor was desperate now as he realized the issue that came with dying: it was scary not knowing where you may end up.

"How do you know that I'm not? After all, I almost killed myself. What makes you think that you're just oh so different? I would happily waste a good bloodshed on you! Now, let Huey go!" Jazmine yelled again.

"Hell no!" Tailor said as he cocked a gun towards Jazmine's face, "If I die, you will too. Well, you'll die either way."

"I'd bet on it." Jazmine said as she cocked one right back at the man, allowing the gun to rest right on his temple. His vein popped out of socket.

"I don't have time for this, Jazmine" Tailor was bored.

"Then, just give me Huey!" Jazmine punched the teeth out of the man's mouth. He wasn't letting up.

"No," He spat as Jazmine turned around just in time to see Huey dragged towards the car behind her.

"I love you," He mouthed, or at least, she thought he did. She just wanted to wake up from a bad dream.

"No!" Jazmine ran towards the car, but it drove off just in time.

She looked back at Tailor who wore sunglasses and a smile.

"You know where I live, Jazmine" He told her.

"And what if I don't show?" She asked him, pretending to be as cold as possible.

"What if Huey dies? What if Granddad dies? What if Cairo dies? What if your precious damn daddy dies? Look, you'd better be there if you don't want your fears to be a reality because I don't mind killing shit! Especially little cocky ass half breeds like you!" He shouted.

"You mean like you?" Jazmine looked over at him with a calm face even though she was freaking out on the inside.

"You'll be there one way or another. Dinner's at seven, whore. Don't be late." Tailor chuckled.

"Go to hell," Jazmine growled at him.

"Will do," Tailor waved as he walked towards his own car, pressed a button on the watch and disappeared.

"Well isn't this one holly, jolly Christmas?" Jazmine muttered.

She stomped towards the car as she headed towards 1600 Pennsylvania Street. You could fuck with her all you wanted to. You could attempt to fight her if it was really that crucial. You could lie to her. You could even harm her yourself, but there was one thing that you should never do to an angry Jazmine Dubois. You should noever do anything on Earth to harm her family or her friends because then she'd have to kill you, happily,and that's not something you wanted.

"Hold on," She warned Riley, Cindy and Caesar, "Because by the time I'm through, they're going to fucking wish that I never even existed in their punk ass lives. Nobody fucks with me, my family, my friends, or my boyfriends! I just want you to know that I love you before I give this unforgettable ass whooping!"

"Damn, Jazmine calm down! Shit, you a little too gangsta!" Riley cried out.

"Jazmine slow down!" Cindy protested.

"Slow down?" Jazmine pressed the accelerator, "I'm just getting started."

* * *

That's chapter 13!

Shoutouts to:

Anonymous Reviewer and Shellie B!

Oh, and if you haven't noticed…It's about to go down!

Bye now!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Jazmine Dubois was so pissed off that she couldn't seem to concentrate on anything but killing everything that moved in the White House. Cindy, Riley, and Michael Caesar, they had told her to calm down, but she wasn't about to listen to that. This was Huey that they had taken from her. Her very first kiss, the guy who had made her cry and smile, the one who she just loved to hate, was the very guy they decided to take from her. There had been at least thirty agents in that restroom stalls ganging up on all five of them. And they wanted her to calm down? It wasn't going to happen. She wasn't going to let it happen. She felt like crushing the shit out of anybody who dared step in her way. They thought she was weak? She would prove them wrong. She would prove all of them wrong. Jazmine didn't give a damn what time Tailor told her to be at the spot he agreed upon without her consent. She was going to whoop some ass on her own time, and judging from the street she closed in on, she was almost at her destination. Then, the unthinkable happened.

The tires all fell off, and the three young adults felt themselves drop onto the ground.

"What the fuck just happened?" Jazmine said as she slammed the door to survey the scene and met a frowning, R.H. and Sarah, "Really you guys? You want to show up right now?"

"Damn, Jazmine who you talking to?" Riley muttered as he got out of the car, pissed as well.

"I sure want to-" Cindy paused as she looked from Sarah to Jazmine, "What the hell?"

"I thought yo ass was dead!" Riley spoke up as he read Cindy's expression.

"Look, we don't have time for that, Riley," R.H. spoke up as he silenced the boy.

"So you messed up the tires because?" Jazmine ignored the shocked expressions from Riley and Cindy

"Honey, you were about to walk into a trap," Sarah told her.

"Not to mention the fact that you were riding in a ticking bomb," R.H. snorted at her.

"Really, Huey? I mean, R.H.," Jazmine fidgeted

"Jazmine, I know you won't like what I have to say," R.H. spoke cautiouslessly, knowing how she could get when she was angry.

"How in the hell are you Huey?" Riley's eyes widened as he recognized the wine eyes.

"I'm from the future, Riley. Me and Caesar invented this time machine, but that's all you really need to know," R.H. told him as he turned back to Jazmine, "You are going to wait until exactly seven o'clock to enter that building, and you're going to enter quietly."

"What the hell? It's two o'clock. In five hours, Huey could die," Jazmine was shaking.

"Huey will be just fine. You know he's not going down without any type of fight. He's probably already thought of some sort of plan. You, on the other hand, haven't thought of a single one. Jazmine, you've got to go in with a game plan, and since you're in a blind rage, you're not really fit to think of one." R.H. told her bluntly.

"What?" Jazmine practically flew towards R.H. as Riley and Caesar held her back.

"Jazmine, calm down! You keep this up and we'll all be in danger!" Caesar told her.

"And what if Huey saw you acting like this? You know what exactly what he would say, Jazmine," Riley coaxed her as her breathing slowed down.

"I never listen to Huey," Jazmine spoke in a defiant time.

R.H. turned to look at her, "Maybe it's time you start."

Jazmine groaned, "So what do you have in mind?"

* * *

Huey Freeman was much harder to crack than he thought. It was like the boy had prepared for this day since he was born. President Tailor shook his head. The boy was very powerful. No wonder the girl he loved was just as strong. He had never seen anything like it. It didn't matter how many times the guards hit him or how much blood streamed down his face. Huey never broke down. He kept that same angry look on his face.

Tailor wanted to make him do anything but that. It made him feel uncomfortable. He felt like he could get hurt with just the snap of a finger from Huey. What was wrong with this one? His granddad was filled with emotions, but he wasn't filled with any. He was like a doll. He kept the same expression on his face no matter how hard you struck it. President Tailor thought it was creepy. Maybe he could talk him into showing some emotion.

"Why don't you just cut yourself and get it over with? Don't you know you're going to die?" Tailor snarled as he curled his upper lip in disgust. He hated this boy. He had only been here for a few hours and he'd already made him feel like some sort of idiot. How did his family and friends deal with it? He would have snapped or walked out. Tailor looked down as he realized he did that a lot.

"Ever heard of Malcom X?" Huey spoke as though he didn't care what question the man asked him.

What kind of stupid question was that? "Of course I have! Any black person with eyes knows he existed!" Tailor said as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"So you know one of his most talked about quotes in his autobiography right?" Huey looked at him with such anger in his eyes that Tailor felt like huddling in a corner. He felt lucky that Huey was strapped down on some table.

"And that would be?" Tailor asked, annoyed.

"Don't ever mess with a man who isn't afraid to die, or something along those lines. I think you get it either way." Huey shrugged.

"And what makes you think that I won't kill you right now?" Tailor asked him.

"What makes you think that I would really freak out if you did? After all, I've been expecting death to find me my entire life. I'm ready to die. Unlike everybody else in this world, I'm ready to die and not look back as long as I did everything I could before doing so." Huey meant it too. He really wasn't afraid. He knew that R.H. had caught up to Jazmine by now, so she should be fine. All he had to do was stall.

"I hate stuck up niggas like you." President Tailor told him.

"And I hate mindless ones like you, so I guess we have a problem," Huey told him as he cut one of the straps but continued to lie down as though he couldn't kick out of them.

"We do don't we, but you know what? Let's make this a little reunion affair. I'll put you in a room with Cairo. He's very drugged up you know? His nerve cells are actually stopping the impulses that stop the pain. They're actually increasing it as his oxygen level moves slower and slower." Tailor told him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Shawn?" Huey looked over at him.

"That is not my name!" President Tailor lied.

"It sure is. You walked out on Cairo. I mean that's just wrong. Cairo didn't cheat on you," Huey pointed out.

"Shut up!" President Tailor cried out.

"And you still left him. You left him to wonder what was wrong with him. I couldn't leave him by himself for a little bit without him getting paranoid. You did that to him!" Huey told him.

"It wasn't like that. There were condoms in my bed. You expected me to stick around after that?" Tailor was practically begging him for forgiveness that Huey wasn't about to give.

"You had a choice. You could have gotten another place. You didn't have to bother your wife unless it dealt with Cairo, but you chose to walk away," Huey told him as he spoke sharply.

"Huey, you don't understand. You don't know what it's like to watch the one break your heart, and you don't have a kid. You don't understand what it's like to look in their eyes and see that they have a part of the person you can't stand inside of them," He told Huey.

"Wrong answer," Huey told him, "I watched my mom get high every day in her life I was alive. I watched her car spin out of control before she killed my dad because he got into the car. I look into Riley's everyday, and I see her. I would never walk out of his life for her mistakes. I would never do such a thing to my child because they looked like somebody who hurt me." Huey growled.

"Never say never, Huey" Tailor smiled.

"Never give bullshit excuses, Shawn." Huey told him, looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you really upset?" Tailor asked him.

"On Cairo's behalf," Huey told him, "Don't get used to it."

"I won't," Tailor kept on smiling, and Huey made a mental note to make sure to knock his mouth off first.

"I know," Huey told him.

"So I guess you want to see, Cairo now don't you?" Tailor asked him.

Huey shrugged.

"We'll see just how emotionless you can be," Tailor told him as he turned him into the harshly lit room that held Cairo.

Cairo looked so terrible even though he was sleeping. He was bleeding, and Huey grimaced as he yelped out in his sleep, his eyes squinted tight. He looked so uncomfortable that Huey felt awful for him. He didn't know what to do for him. He wished Jazmine were here. She was better at first aid than he was. She would have actually known what to do. He sighed. He would just have to make do with what information he had.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your fun," Tailor spoke as he shut the door behind him.

"Huey?" Cairo groaned, "I'm gonna die!"

"Just shut up and hang tight, Cairo. We're going to get you out of here," Huey said as he lifted from the bench to free Cairo, "Now here's the plan."

* * *

Jazmine could not believe what the hell R.H. had done to her hair. If it weren't for the fact that Huey was in imminent danger, she would have really protested. Her hair was some sort of dingy brown color and her eyes were blue. He had straightened out her hair, and now, she looked like some sort of white girl. She hated it. If they were going to make her look white, she could have at least looked some sort of cute white girl. She looked a hot mess. She didn't even look like Jazmine. If she didn't fell like beating ass a few minutes ago, she sure did now.

She looked over at her mother, Sarah. She wondered why she was so angry with her. After all, she should be happy. Her mother was alive, but she lied. Her mother was worried about her, but she lied. Half of Jazmine wanted to hug her, and half of Jazmine hated her guts. There was thing that Jazmine did know though. The day she didn't apologize would be the day that she regretted it forever. Her mother was her best friend. She had given up a life for her and her daddy. Jazmine just couldn't ignore that. Jazmine just wondered why the hell her mother would give up all of that for her. Why would she choose another life just for them? Jazmine couldn't even fathom that she was worth it.

Sarah looked so sad. She couldn't even look Jazmine in the eyes. Jazmine felt so awful. She had blown up at her after she told her the truth. After she did everything she could, Jazmine basically spat in her face. The way she behaved showed her mother just how awful Jazmine had allowed herself to become. She felt like an idiot. It wasn't her mother's fault that the world was so crazy right now. She walked towards her, the tears streaming down her face that she had hidden for so long finally came out, and she hugged her tight. Sarah was so shocked that at first she couldn't move, but her mother instincts set in as she hugged Jazmine back.

"Mom, I'm so sorry!" Jazmine blubbered into her chest.

"I am too, honey. I am too." Sarah hugged her back.

"What's with them?" Cindy asked Riley.

"I think it's that white girl look, Huey, I mean R.H. gave Jazmine. It's got her acting very not gangsta at the moment. It'll wear off," Riley told her.

"I'm white, but I don't act like that!" Cindy argued.

"Now, Cindy! You know that you kinda different from most white girls. Don't front!" Riley laughed.

"And are you tearing up?" Cindy asked him with wide blue eyes.

"No, I'm from the inner city of Chicago. I scream gangsta! I-"

"Brooklyn all day, baby!" Caesar yelled out.

"Mane, calm all that down, Caesar!" Riley told him.

"Whatever," Cindy shrugged as she walked away.

"Ay Cindy!" He called her name before wiggling his finger towards himself. Cindy answered his silent call and walked right his way.

"What babe?" She giggled.

"I just wanted you to know. I ain't no punk or nothing like that, and I know I ain't out of high school, and the world is shitted on and all that, but Cindy, I love you, and-"

Riley didn't have time to finish the sentence because Cindy had found her way to his lips, and she clearly didn't plan on letting go any time soon.

"I need a girlfriend man!" Caesar announced to nobody in particular.

The couple chuckled at the dread head before kissing again and again until R.H. cleared his throat. It was 6:00. It was time to go.

* * *

"Are they here yet?" Tailor hissed into the walkie talkie.

No response.

"It's 6:57! They should be pulling up by now! Hello?" The president spoke again.

There was still no response.

"Don't make me come down there," Tailor hissed into the speaker.

Nothing.

"Damn, I've got to do everything around here." Tailor grumbled as he headed down the hall.

His body guard was tied up and gagged by the time he made it to the booth. He looked so terrible that Tailor felt sorry for the man. Too bad he would have to kill him now. The man was too weak, and he knew too much. He used to have such a bright future, and now he would be forced to kill him. The body guard's name was Weston. He went to Harvard and graduated as valedictorian. He had a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters. President Tailor whacked his head until the red blood seeped from his head. Now, he was dead. Tailor laughed as he let the dogs eat his remains.

"I should go check on Huey and Caesar," He spoke aloud as though somebody was actually there.

He opened the door as he looked around the fluorescent lit room. He couldn't believe it. He felt like screaming. He felt like kicking the wall. They were gone. Huey and Cairo had somehow escaped. Then, he laughed. This was even more fun. Huey and Cairo had added even more excitement to the game. He clasped his hands together and grabbed his flame thrower and some chemicals. It was time to play hide and go seek. The Tailor way.

"Did you see what he did to that security guard?" Cindy whispered as they all stared at the man's body from the bushes.

"Shhhh." Jazmine whispered, "We're lucky he didn't check the bushes. We might have all died.

"Did you stick it on him R.H?" Riley whispered .

"Yes, I did," R.H. grinned.

"And why are you smiling?" Caesar was confused.

"The dumb ass left the door open," R.H. shook his head.

"Dumb ass president," Riley cackled as he loaded his machine guns and tear gas before distributing them equally, "Let's go get my brother."

They all walked in the door just in time. The door behind them slammed loudly, and sirens began blaring as the lights flickered on and off. The whole crew got into stance except for Jazmine who was already running towards the stairs that led to the halls that led to the Pentagon. R.H. would have grabbed her had Riley not carried her back to them, waiting to see what was going on. Just as he thought of saying this aloud, the speakers blared loudly as everybody, including Sarah Dubois covered their ears. They all looked upwards as the voice blared.

"You want to play a game Huey and Cairo? Is that Jazmine I see? And Sarah? Ahh, mother-daughter bonding, and Riley? Boy, you've gotten tall! Michael, just go home. And who's the blonde? Oh that's right Riley, that's your honeybee. And man in black? I don't know you, but feel free to die too?" The voice spoke.

"What the hell?" Riley shouted out, "How does this nigga know my name?"

"Watch the racial slurs, Riley," The ominous voice of President Tailor warned as a streak of fire shot down the hallway towards him.

"Whoa! Damn! What the fuck was that?" Riley shouted out as he barely missed the flame. He panted on the blue carpet as he realized that it wreaked of gasoline.

"This dude is crazy!" Cindy whispered.

"Thank you very much, beautiful Cindy, you almost look as nice as your slut of a mother in my bed," Tailor replied wistfully as he looked at them from his surveillance cameras.

"Fuck you bastard!" Cindy shouted as another flame headed her way! She rolled over as the flame hit a curtain before spreading around them.

"Oh shit!" Riley yelled out.

"Shut your mouth!" Jazmine yelled out, "He's just trying to distract us!"

"She's right!" R.H warned them, mouthing the words, "Just keep moving"

"So let's play tag! My body guards are it. If you die, you're out!" President Tailor's face popped up on the screen. It looked so sinister and twisted. His smile scared the crap out of Cindy who was clinging onto Riley so hard that she was starting to draw a little blood. Luckily, Riley was used to it, he smirked.

Gunshots and flames simultaneously filled the air as the crew ran down the hallway, gasping for breath. In front of them was a whole group of mean looking body guards. They stood in line like they were some sort of army. For a moment, they all stood there quietly, sizing each other up and weighing their options. Jazmine and Cindy exchanged a look as Riley and R.H. got into stance. Sarah began to do the same.

Riley looked at all of them and winked before yelling out, "Let's represent in this bitch!"

They all charged towards the mob. Jazmine knocked out half of the five hundred men instantly, leaving two hundred and fifty man. All of their legs were broken, and by the time the other side noticed what was going on, Riley shot them up. By the time they were done beating body guards down, another set appeared as Tailor's favorite laugh cackled over the intercom.

"This could take a while," Jazmine said as she wiped the sweat from her face, noticing that her dingy brown hair had returned to its puffy state. She figured that was how Tailor recognized her. She cracked another arm as the man yelled out in pain and threw him into the hall. She would find Huey, and for Tailor's sake, she hoped Huey was alright. Because if he wasn't, Tailor would really catch the hell he should've caught in the gas station earlier.

* * *

Huey and Cairo were also busy running throughout the White House, but they were on the opposite side of all the fighting. All Huey could do was hope that Jazmine was alright as he carried Cairo through the room. Suddenly, President Tailor's voice boomed through the halls.

"Huey and Cairo! Let's play a game, shall we?"

"No, I don't play games!" Huey growled as he kept moving through the halls.

"How impatient we are! I know! Let's play leap frog!" The president chuckled, and Huey could just see his annoying smile, "If you make the west wing explode, you're out!"

"What?" Huey furrowed his brow as he took out a small piece of Riley's candy that he confiscated from his stash of junk food and threw it. At first, nothing happened, so Huey moved forward. Suddenly, a chain of small explosions from some circular disc on the floor placed holes in the ground.

"This could take a while," Huey sighed as he began avoiding each disc that lay flat on the floor.

* * *

So…chapter fourteen?

Shoutout:

To my greatreview reviewer! Lol!

Now, I have a bone to pick with you! It's about 180 hits to this story, yet one review? Not cool guys! C'mon click on that little review button. You ARE reading for enjoyment!

And also, check out Boondocks Forever by revolutionaryinthemaking. It's good stuff! Read it and review.

Love you, kay? Review!

"Cuz Young Reezy almost died in this bitch!"

Yeah, what he said.

Be on the lookout for chapter fifteen…and REVIEW! Cuz I don't wanna get gangsta!

"You tellem'! Hell yeah! Young Reezy and Miss Ace is up in this!"

Yeah….I'll be back. *pulls out gun* :-)


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

President Tailor watched the crew from the screen of his surveillance cameras. He smirked as Huey nearly stepped upon a disc in his hopping around. His afro bobbed with the motions, making Tailor howl in the laughter of Huey's imminent death. He looked over at Jazmine Dubois' side before widening his eyes to the bloody remnants of his body guards. Tailor's eyes widened as he saw Jazmine move towards the next set, not even bothering to care about the fact that she was killing people. Worst of all, she had that look in her eyes that many young people these days didn't have- determination, and Tailor knew exactly what she wanted or rather, who she wanted. It wasn't like he cared either way. She would be dead. Huey would be dead, and if they didn't die, one of their loved ones would. It was just that simple. He opened Tom's door discreetly with the push of a button and observed Tom slither out. That would help Tailor slow them down, but deep down inside, something told President Tailor that even he wouldn't make it out alive.

* * *

Thomas Dubois hated jail, but he also hated federal prison. Honestly, anything with big dudes scared him. He trembled as his door opened, afraid to turn around. He sensed who it was already. It was him. Tom narrowed his eyes as he listened to the sound of his footsteps. The man's breathing was raspy, alert. He wasn't afraid any longer. He was just pissed. He hated this man, Tailor. He had no doubt in his mind that Tailor caused his wife's death and his daughter's tears. He felt the need to rip him from the tiny corridor he was in, and now, he felt what Jazmine felt. He could feel her rage, her sorrow. Tom spun around, a deep scowl embedded into his face. Somebody was going to pay, and this man would be his first victim, The Booty Warrior. He could hear the words that the man whispered in his ear.

"I want you, and I'll get you," His ugly face held a smirk of confidence despite their last encounter, "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"I choose the easy way," Tom growled, clenching his fist and striking the Booty Warrior. The man flew across from him, coughing as his eyes widened from the blow.

"Tom, you're making me angry, and that's something that you don't want to do," The Booty Warrior warned him.

"Well then," Tom said as he began to kick and punch the man into unconsciousness, "It's a good thing that I'm already pissed as hell isn't it?"

His fists struck the man as he angrily thought of everything that Tailor had ever taken away from Tom. He struck the smirk off his face first; the teeth flew out of Flex's mouth. The tears flew down the man's cheeks, but Tom didn't care. He would keep on hitting him until he felt better. He punched him for his wife's blood. He punched him for his daughter's innocence lost. He punched him for every day that he spent in sorry, and by the time Tom was done. The Booty Warrior was almost dead.

"I'm, sorry," The Booty Warrior rasped as he struggled for air, the tears no longer flowing. He looked at Tom with his short breaths. He expected Tom to allow him life.

"I bet you are," Tom told him before breaking his neck and allowing the blood to seep from his body and onto the rug. He stepped over the body, not looking back. He had a president to kill.

And yes, he was still very pissed.

* * *

Jazmine Dubois had run towards the wing after encountering at least a thousand soldiers. She didn't know, nor did she care. All she cared about was getting to Huey. That's all she needed. Riley and Cindy felt the same way. They were shooting anything that got in their way. R.H stepped back and watched, only stepping in when necessary. The intercoms blared again, and Jazmine rolled her eyes. She was getting increasingly tiresome with Tailor's games.

"Let's play a game shall we?" Tailor's voice announced over them.

"Or how about I play with you?" Jazmine growled.

"That would be nice, naked," Tailor told her, chuckling in a way that sent chills of fear down her spine.

"You ain't gon touch her!" Riley growled at Tailor, clutching Cindy in a protective way as well.

"You know, maybe you shouldn't worry about Jazmine," The president announced as another screen came into view of Tom, shivering and crying, "Maybe you should worry about Tom."

"Daddy!" Jazmine gasped, unable to control herself.

"Damn! It's always Tom's punk ass!" Riley groaned, but as soon as he saw Jazmine's fiery gaze, he took it back, "But he can't help that. We should go get him."

"For what?" A voice sounded behind them.

"Huey?" Jazmine turned around, her brow up, "Daddy! You're okay!"

"Damn right I am!" Tom growled as everybody stared at him agape.

"What? Are you guys going to come on or what?" Tom told them. His eyes rested on Sarah.

"Tom-"

He kissed her long and deep. Jazmine and the others shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't need to know, honey. You did what you had to." He told her.

"How did you know?" Sarah asked him.

"Because I know you," Tom told her as he grabbed her hand, turning towards the others. He was a punk no longer, at least for now, and now, he could lead as he was meant to.

The group said nothing as they looked at him expectantly for once.

"Let's do this," He told them, "For that Kodak miracle moment."

Then, he fucked it up.

"Yeah! Let's do this shit, son!" Riley announced loudly as they charged towards the steps that led to the Pentagon, getting closer and closer to a worrying and mentally unstable President Tailor.

* * *

Cairo was losing blood and fast. He was dying. Huey hated to admit it, really he did, but there was a fool proof chance that Cairo was not going to make it. He needed Jazmine to help him. She was the caring one, the one who was always helping the sick. She would know what to do, or maybe she wouldn't. Cairo was groaning. He had woken up again. Huey didn't know how it felt, to have all your nerves set on pain reception. Just a few drove him insane. He wanted to take the pain away, but he didn't know how.

Huey shook his head. Cairo had so much to live for. It wasn't right that he had to die at the hands of his father. Nobody deserved to die, except for Tailor, and he wasn't the one suffering at his dad's expense. Cairo looked at Huey. Huey looked at Cairo, and at that moment, Huey knew that he wasn't going to make it. He knew that he would never have the chance to appeal his case to Jazmine. He knew that Jazmine would cry when she heard the news, and he knew that it would be up to him to avenge his old friend. However, Huey knew something else. He knew that without a doubt, he would be regretful if he didn't tell him how sorry he was and vice versa.

"Cairo, man, I'm sorry about what happened," Huey told him, looking off into the distance.

"Don't be," Cairo coughed out painfully, "It was my fault. You were a good friend. It wasn't your fault that I had to move away. I was just being a punk."

Huey shot him a grin that Cairo rarely saw since Huey's parents died in the accident, "I told you so."

"Shut-up, man," Cairo laughed as the blood seeped out some more. It hurt, "Huey?"

"Yeah," Huey asked, still not looking at him.

"Am I going to die?" Cairo's words were fading now as he asked the question, and Huey knew the answer.

"Probably," Huey told him as he looked into Cairo's eyes, hating the pain he saw in them. He looked away. Huey figured that Cairo's last vision of Huey shouldn't be the one with Huey's tears in his eyes.

"Why now?" Cairo rasped.

"I guess that's just how things work," Huey shrugged, but on the inside, he wondered the same thing as he stopped, setting Cairo on the ground.

"He's my dad isn't he?" Cairo asked him. His brown eyes still held that same vitality even if Cairo was dying.

"He is," Huey nodded. He wanted to kill Tailor.

"Whoop his ass for me when you get to him," Cairo's eyes narrowed, "Promise me that."

"I will," Huey told him angrily.

"I'm not ready to die," Cairo told him, "That's what makes me feel so weak."

Huey snorted as he looked at Cairo, "You're a human being. It's only natural to be scared of what you don't know."

"Are you?" Cairo asked him.

"Sometimes," Huey answered him. His tone was sincere. Cairo liked that. He was good for Jazmine. He had been right after all.

"Take care of Jazmine for me," Cairo said as he dragged out the words, his oxygen levels depleting, "Tell her that I lov-"

Cairo took his last breath, and Huey lowered his head. He let two tear drops fall before wiping them away. He would take care of Jazmine he meant that. He always had. He lifted his body, placing it in the corner of a small room. He would come back for the body. He promised himself this as he placed a limp Cairo in the titanium container. Then, he ran towards the east wing, noticing the trail of bodies that remained on the floor. He looked at the bullets. They were from Riley's gun. He ran down the stairs. They were really okay. That was all that mattered.

* * *

Jazmine Dubois stormed towards the doors that led towards the office. She was tired of the flames and the alligators. She hated the stupid body guards that made her kill people. She wanted to kill him, and she would. She would make sure of that. The intercoms blared again, but no voice came from them as she looked at a shadow emerging from the corridor's behind them.

He clapped.

"Job well done, Jazmine, Riley, Cindy, Sarah, and the two unknown guys with them," The president smirked, but he was scared. He was very, very afraid.

"It's Michael Caesar," The boy with the dreads answered angrily. The blood ran through his veins.

"You found me," Tailor lifted his hands as if in defeat. Nobody moved. He was confused. Why weren't they falling for it? Anybody else would have.

"I don't trust anything you say. Why would I trust your actions?" Jazmine spat.

"Well, Cairo's dead," Tailor shrugged, not hurt. After this was all over, he would send the body to that whore and see how she liked to be hurt.

"You're lying," Jazmine narrowed her eyes, but she knew he wasn't. Deep down in the smallest tiniest part of her heart, she knew that the man was telling the truth. She wanted to strike him, but that would be unwise. They were in his territory. She had to move on his accord.

"I'm not, and you know it," He told her, moving closer as she took one step back.

"Why are you doing this?" Jazmine asked him as she found herself against the wall, feeling its outlines.

"Because Jazmine, I'm so fucked up," He told her as he grabbed her roughly. Jazmine's eyes widened in realization the tears streaming down her face, "God, I'm so fucked up, but you know what Jazmine? I just don't give a fuck! I thought I was going to die, Jazmine. You scared the shit out of me."

"It was you," Jazmine whispered as Sarah blew the gun towards Tailor, but it didn't work. It bounced right off his suit, and she couldn't hit Tailor's head with a steady shot. She might hit Jazmine.

"Isn't it always me?" Tailor raised his eyebrow as he grinned. Jazmine turned her head away in disgust as he placed his weight on her.

"I guess so," Jazmine told him, giving him a warning glance.

"Get the fuck off of her, Tailor," A voice came from behind.

"Huey, my boy, so nice of you to join us, but I cannot grant you that one request," The president told him.

Then, before anybody could properly attack the insane man, he flipped some switch, and Jazmine and Tailor disappeared with the flip of the wall. They all stared in horror for a moment, unsure of what to do. This was Jazmine, hard or not. It would only be so long before she cracked. They had to hurry. Huey had promised her he would be there for her. He had never lied to her. Well, he had never lied to her without reasonable cause. He wasn't going to start now. He took out a stick of dynamite. The crew backed away from the wall.

"Mane are you crazy?" Riley growled, "This floor is lit up with gasoline! What the hell are you doing? Do you wanna die?"

"Riley, I have to. You may not get it, but you have to for me," Huey's voice was sad, sorrowful.

"Mane bruh," Riley told him as he held back tears, "Just make sure yo ass is careful! Aite?"

Huey nodded as he threw the stick of dynamite at the wall, watching it explode but not flinching. He knew what his brother wanted to say without speaking. He wanted to say it too. There just wasn't enough time, but he didn't say that. Huey wanted to tell Riley that he was smart, how he looked like his mother and acted like his father. How he would be a great man one day. He wanted to tell him he loved him, but that was something that happened in a corny ass movie. Instead, Huey said this, "I will be."

They all watched him as Huey crawled into the dark hole with the rope as they all made slight noises of horror, hoping that he was alright. He thought of Jazmine when they were younger. She had been so innocent then and a little stupid. That was Jazmine though. He chuckled. At times, she still was.

* * *

_April 14, 2014_

_Jazmine and Huey sat upon the hill. She was actually wearing yellow instead of her usual purple today, Huey noted. Her green eyes were observant as she listened to Huey's thoughts on the world, not that he cared. It was just nice to be listened to for a change, even if she was super naive. _

_The trees had stopped moving for some unknown reason too. They knew that something was going to happen. All of nature did. It was as if for that moment in time would mark Jazmine and Huey for the rest of their lives. Huey felt it, and he could tell that Jazmine felt the change in the air too. Even though they had only known each other since the fall, there was some sort of sincerity in their antics. He told her a few false stories about Santa Clause being placed in Hungarian prison just to hear her gasp loudly in surprise. Huey especially enjoyed the moment that he told her Dora the Explorer had been kidnapped in the paper. She had actually furrowed her brow in disgust that time as she told Huey that this wasn't true. There was no Dora Explorer story in the newspaper. He had started to rub off on her._

_Jazmine harassed him too. She always tried to hang out with him. She followed him around like a little love sick puppy, and Huey never argued. After all, puppies were cute, and Jazmine was no exception. She made him a little softer. He was always a little more gentle with her too. And in time, he had even apologized to her. Huey apologizing was rare. Everybody knew that. Even Jazmine was shocked when he had apologized to her after she sobbed. She had been crying because of the "Friends" card she had given him to cheer her up. The two angelic white kids on the block hugging disgusted him. He had wrinkled his nose up in disgust at Jazmine, angry with her. Well, he was. Then she started crying, and he just had to stop her. He couldn't take it._

_And now they were here on this hill. They always ended up here in the end. Every single time they did. At first, they said nothing. Both of them were trying to determine what was happening. The big moment, the suspense, it was eating them alive. But they were still ten. Even they couldn't figure out that fate was giving the tools that they needed. Huey looked at her. Jazmine looked at him, but all she did was blush under his gaze. Huey didn't like that. He looked away from her._

"_You're quiet," Huey told her._

"_I was just thinking," Jazmine retorted as she pouted. Her lower lip trembled._

"_No, don't cry," Huey told her so sweetly that she actually did stop this time. The action surprised her. He hardened his voice again, playing it off, "You being quiet is actually sort of a good thing."_

"_A good thing?" Jazmine asked him confused, "How?"_

"_Well, for one thing, I can actually read without you touching my afro or trying to play stupid games." Huey told her in a no nonsense tone._

"_My games are not stupid!" Jazmine's eyes were darkening as she stomped her little feet._

"_They are," Huey shrugged at her. He knew that she was smart. One day she would see just how silly she was being._

"_Huey?" Jazmine began in a tone that meant it was Jazmine Dubois talk show time. Huey rolled his eyes, not feeling like having a basic interview with the inquisitive Jazmine Dubois._

"_What, Jazmine?"_

"_Is all that stuff you said about the world ending true?" She asked him. She didn't look frightened, and he wondered why. Her eyes sparkled in a way he had never seen a girl's do before. He wondered what she was thinking about._

"_I don't lie to you do I?" Huey said, answering her question with his._

"_No, except for maybe about Santa being in Hungarian prison," Jazmine thought of this with sadness._

"_Jazmine, Santa is so in prison," Huey smirked on the inside. He just could not resist bothering the young girl._

"_No, he's not!" Jazmine hollered. Huey wanted to laugh. She was becoming more aggressive every day._

"_But Huey?" Jazmine asked as Huey braced himself for a silly question._

"_Yeah, Jaz?" He answered back._

"_What are we gonna do when it ends? What happens?" Huey froze up. He looked upwards. He really didn't know._

"_Wait here," Huey told her as he ran towards his house and grabbed two walkie talkies before he ran back to the hill, handing one to her._

"_What's that?" Jazmine asked with a small voice._

"_A walkie talkie," Huey told her handing her one, "If anything bad ever happens to you or if the world is ending and you get scared, just use this, and I'll be there. I promise."_

"_But what if you don't get there in time, Huey?" Jazmine asked him._

_He gulped. For some reason, he didn't enjoy that possibility very much, "I will."_

"_I won't get on your nerves?" Jazmine asked him._

_Huey sighed. Normally this question would get on his nerves. Today, this question made him think that something like this would happen one day. Maybe he would really want Jazmine around him one day, "I would rather you get on my nerves than for you to be six feet under I guess."_

"_You do love me!" Jazmine grinned._

"_What? No, I never said that," Huey protested, but it was useless. Jazmine had already gone into detail about the wedding. She even wanted pink ponies there._

_Huey's brow furrowed. He did not want any pink ponies at their wedding. He realized his thoughts as he shook his head in protest. There would be no wedding._

_(End of Flashback)_

* * *

Huey had meant every single word of it too. Well, he meant almost every last word. He couldn't break that promise to her. Maybe she didn't remember it, but he did. That mattered to him. It would always matter to him. As long as Jazmine was around, he would fight for her. Even at ten, he had known it. He just hadn't known that she would do the same for him.

A noise scuffled from behind him. He balanced himself on the rope, waiting, watching. Then, he turned around and snorted. He should have known.

"What are you doing here?" Huey hissed.

"Doing what I should have done a long time ago," R.H. told him as he pulled out a machine gun.

* * *

Jazmine tried to pry him off of her. She really did, but he wouldn't budge. It was disgusting. His lips were all over hers, and it felt all wrong. It was bad enough that he was old. It was really uncomfortable to think that he wanted her not only dead, but he also wanted her. His hands were in places that she knew that they shouldn't be in, and she gulped. Jazmine was wriggling beneath him in discomfort, and little did she knew, it was only giving Tailor incentive to do even more.

"It's such a shame that you have to die," Tailor crooned as he continued to kiss Jazmine. He ignored the innocence in her eyes that was quickly leaving. She was too damn sweet for her own good. And to make matters worse, she was pretty and smart. That was always a bad combination.

"Don't do this," Jazmine begged him as his hands snaked down to her waist, rubbing gently.

"Oh, I'll go nice and slow," Tailor crooned again as he took her shirt and slowly moved it upwards, "I'll do it better than Huey ever did."

That did it.

Something about Huey's name made Jazmine gain her strength and slam him against the wall. She wrestled him there, taking out her gun, but he pushed her back as she struggled under his weight.

"Jazmine, you don't want to get hurt, and you don't want to go out like this," Tailor said in a calm voice, like he hadn't tried to rape her.

"You mean fighting?" Jazmine asked him as she gave him a nice painful upper cut to the jaw, enjoying the view of blood that she drew from his face, "I don't mind if I do."

And they fought. Jazmine kept hitting him. She wouldn't stop. She was like some sort of mad woman. Unfortunately, Taylor was just as pissed as she was.

"C'mon Jazmine!" He howled as he struck her and she felt a sharp pain, "Give up! I did kill Huey's mother after all. What makes you think I won't kill a lady?"

"You, what?" Jazmine narrowed her eyes.

"Huey's father had great power to be an impressive politician, but he had to stay with her. He loved her. She wasn't on drugs purposely. I paid a doctor to tell her she had cancer. She took the pills to help with it, but she was hurting her mental state," Tailor cackled, "And she drove away and they crashed, right in front of afro boy!"

"Oh my god," Jazmine said, to shocked to strike.

"And he looked at me at that funeral at age seven, and he told me that he knew I did it. He didn't know why though. The boy was perceptive but young. He still had much to learn. I wasn't worried about him though. Until he met you," Tailor told him. He looked at her as he cocked his head, shaking it.

"And why is that?" Jazmine asked him as her fists clenched violently.

"Because you are so sweet that people would believe you. Maybe not at first, but you have a power. I know it."

"So you have to kill me?" Jazmine protested weakly as the blood fell from her cheek where Tailor had hit her. Tailor looked wild. He was almost rabid.

"Yes, I do," Tailor told her as he pulled the gun from Jazmine's pocket. She took a deep breath. She was ready to die now. She sighed deeply. Huey wouldn't save her after all.

Suddenly, the window beside her crashed in. Beside her was a strawberry blonde afro. The woman tackled Tailor to the ground before turning around to look at Jazmine with wide green eyes. She put him in the sleep hold position as Tailor fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What in the world did Huey do to my hair?" The woman wondered aloud.

"You're me?" Jazmine stammered.

"Is that a bad thing? I'm just future you," The lady shrugged.

"Depends, am I Mrs. Freeman yet?" Jazmine giggled.

"You're bruised and covered in blood, yet all you can think about is marriage?" Future Jazmine gave her a Huey scowl.

"I am!" Jazmine squealed.

"Awww, what a nice reunion," Tailor said as he picked up the gun, "Too bad you're both going to die."

"Boom!" The guns went off as the two Jazmines hopped to the ground. They looked up and saw R.H and Huey standing there with disapproving glances.

Tailor fell over dead, looking at them all with wide eyes. He twitched for a moment before the blood finally left his body. Huey looked up to the sky as he remembered his promise to Cairo. He hoped that was good enough for him.

"Game over, Tailor." Huey whispered in the man's ear before grabbing a ring out of the man's pocket, putting it in his own, and going over to Jazmine.

She raised an eyebrow, "Is it really over?"

He looked into her eyes as he wiped her tears, "I promised you didn't I? I even killed the bastard that made you cry."

Jazmine laughed then; and even though they had just killed the president and Huey's future self and her future self were still in the room, she couldn't help but kiss him. And as she did, she heard these words.

"Awwww heeeelll naaaw! Ya'll done already killed the nigga?"

"My baaaabbby is kiisssing Huuueey!"

"Ay! Jazzy! That lady with the afro looks like you best friend!"

"Calm down, Tom. If you can handle the Booty Warrior, you can handle this."

"Brooklyn!"

They all stopped to stare at Caesar.

"Sorry," He said.

* * *

So as we can all pretty much conclude…

This story is almost over…

R.I.P Cairo! I still love ya!

Anyways…

SHOUT-OUTS:

Revolutionary in the Making, Great Review2(can't wait till you get an actual account), anonymous lover of Riley and Cindy,helloooooo, Shellie B., Cruella De Chelle, Mewmewlightning, charmed0401, hey- the person who doesn't speak Spanish? Lol!

And… *drumroll*

Miss Ace Thank You! Gone head girl! You review on that story.

Damn, I'm proud of some of you guys for finally reviewing! Ah!

And as for the rest of you, you best get that review on… you already know what's up!

And yes, there's another chapter. I mean…you guys still don't know where Granddad is! :)

Also, it's a oneshot I wrote…it's called And the Lion Fell in Love With the Lamb, but it's Riley/Jaz! Go read it! RIGHT NOW!

And review.

"Cuz Riley-"

"You mean Jazmine almost died in this bitch?"

"Actually, I did die in this bitch!"

"Dang, sorry Cairo."

Yeah….so bye? And revvvviiiieew! Do it for Cairo. Or Huey. Or Jazmine. Or one of these darn loveable characters! :)


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Huey Freeman held Jazmine in his arms as he took in a relieved breath of fresh air. After everything that had happened, it was over. It was finally over. He heard a lot of banging and shooting outside and smiled as everybody around him trembled in fear.

"Nigga are you crazy?" Riley asked his brother as he took out his machine guns, ready to strike.

"Riley, cut it out!" Huey hissed as he gave them all a smirk, "Am I the only one who remembered the plan?"

"Shit, who was about to listen to your ass?" Cindy piped up as she snuggled next to Riley, "I was too busy looking at Riley to pay attention."

"And I just wasn't paying attention," Riley exclaimed before he got a look from Cindy, "Because I was too busy looking at mah young beauty right here."

Huey shook his head as he looked at Tom, who probably knew nothing about it. As a matter of fact, Tom didn't even look like the guy who had fought about a few hours ago. The man was crying in a corner as his wife Sarah held him. Huey shook his head. The male needed to be the head of his household. Stuff like this made him upset. He really needed to help black males establish leadership in their households when he got done with this. He watched Tom wipe the mucus with his sleeve before making a face of disgust.

"And you say I never listen," Jazmine teased him as she poked a finger into his chest.

"I do listen," Huey told her, "Just not this time."

"Sure, Huey, where have I heard that one before?" Jazmine laughed.

"You remember that?" Huey asked as he looked into her eyes. He had to pull away before he got lost in them. After being locked away from her for just about a day or two, he had to force himself to back off.

"I remember everything about us, including the plan." Jazmine chuckled.

"Well then, tell me about it," Huey glanced around the room, "Tell all of us about it."

* * *

_December 23, 2022_

_"Now remember," Huey spoke gruffly as he drove onto the interstate, "No bathroom breaks, no whining about how hungry we are. We are on a mission people."_

_Riley's head lifted from Cindy's as he heard Huey's words, "Mane why we gotta starve? I don't wanna starve for none of these ungrateful ass citizens! Not if they keep getting killed!"_

"_You'll be next if you don't do something about it," Huey told him as he lurched forward, seemingly catching road rage._

"_Aww, mane, you know I was just playing with you!" Riley chuckled nervously as his brother slowed down the car, smirking._

"_Don't fuck with me, and you'll live to fight and win. Fuck with me, and you'll have more to worry about than some politicians gunning your asses down." Huey told them._

"_Mane, we got this, Huey!" Cindy yelled out, "They can either get down or lay down."_

"_This is not like the time you, Jazmine and Riley decided to make a candy bar mafia, Cindy" Huey Freeman slammed his hand on the dashboard as everybody in the car trembled. Normally, Huey was calm and collected. Today, tonight, he was another man. He was kind of scary. Huey noticed and softened his tone, "This is different. Much more is at stake."_

"_Like what Huey?" Cindy looked annoyed as she sat back in her seat. She twirled her hair. That was something Cindy only did when she was nervous._

"_Like imminent death and destruction, Cindy!" Huey snapped at her as Riley pulled Cindy to him protectively. Huey was most definitely not helping the situation right now._

"_Huey! Why would you say something like that to her?" Riley yelled, "C'mon mane. Everybody can't handle that shit."_

"_Alright, look, the point is that this will not be easy. Whether you stay or leave, you're going to have to fight or die. Those are pretty much your options. Because if you know me or Jazmine or Sarah, they're coming to get you," Huey told them as he folded his arms across his chest._

"_Shit, this sounds like Get Rich or Die trying! Mane that's my movie!" Riley declared._

"_It's old as dirt too," Cindy snorted._

"_Mane whatever, Cindy," Riley told her as he looked at Huey, pretending to be engaged._

"_Anyways, we're going to stick this camera on Tailor when he leaves. I've already hacked into all of the news stations. Tomorrow, this camera will activate as soon as I stick it on his body," Huey informed them all. Too bad Jazmine was the only listening._

"_Brooklyn all day over Chicago mane!" Michael told Riley._

"_Well, yo mama was so ugly that she looked into the ocean and everything died." Riley announced._

"_Well, yo mama is so fat that she-"_

"_Really? You two want to make jokes when my life is at risk?" Tom sniveled sadly._

"_Actually," Michael answered him, "Yes, yes, I do."_

_Tom buried his face in his hands and cried. Nobody cared._

"_And how do you plan on doing that?" Jazmine asked him intently, ignoring the background chatter._

"_I'm sure that I'll figure something out," He shrugged._

_(End of Flashback)_

* * *

Everybody looked at Jazmine and then at Huey as they started laughing at them. They thought that they were crazy. They really thought that they were crazy. In reality, it had been their fault. They just hadn't listened. But Huey and Jazmine weren't surprised. After all, nobody ever listened to Huey. It was just common nature. Huey, laughing, was not.

"I fail to see where all the people, destroying the property helps us out, Huey," Tom raised an eyebrow. He was serious now. The tears had stopped flowing. Maybe he was going to stop acting like a bitch after all. Riley, Cindy, and Huey all doubted it. He was probably just in shock.

"Don't you get it?" Huey stepped away from the window as a shoe came through, "It's finally happening."

"What we're finally going to die?" Riley asked him. Everybody looked at him for a moment. Had he done something like Huey?

"No Ebonics?" Huey asked him. His eyebrows rose.

"Well, I guess it's okay," Riley shrugged, "But in the streets, I'll still use them."

"Ahem!" Cindy cleared her throat.

"And around ya'll asses too aight?" Riley belted out, "Damn! A nigga talks all proper and shit. Nobody ever cares about what Riley does!"

"Right..." Huey trailed off, "The people finally realize that their government isn't everything it's meant to be. They're finally taking a stand."

"So this means that everything will be normal?" Sarah asked him.

"Not necessarily," R.H. spoke.

"It'll be a few years or so before other people actually care, but what you guys are looking at?" Future Jazmine had a voice of power that Jazmine in 2022 didn't possess yet. Everybody was looking between the girls, wondering about the possibility of their lives, "This is the start of a revolution, a turning point."

"She's right," R.H spoke with tears in his eyes as he looked at his wife, "This is the turning point that you need. That we all need."

"Honey, what's going on? Why does that woman look so much like Jazmine?" He asked her, "Have you been cheating on me, Sarah?"

"Tom!" Sarah yelled out, mortified, "Of course not!"

"Tom, I do not want Sarah," R.H told him as he looked at the blushing girl with the colorful orange afro, "I already have a woman thank you."

"I want my real hair color back," Jazmine announced as she looked enviously at the couple before her.

Huey ignored her, rolling his eyes. He looked around the room. Somebody was missing. All of a sudden, his stomach began to think that maybe they weren't so safe after all.

"Where's Granddad?" He asked everybody.

* * *

Robert Jebediah Freeman woke up and wondered where in the hell he was. He had told those boys to clean up his house, and what did they do? They strapped him to this uncomfortable ass chair. And he was still wearing this uncomfortable ass thong at that! He bet it was Riley. He always did stuff like this. He could not wait to find Riley and beat his ass. He would never pull another stunt like this in his house. He got up and pulled off his belt. Then, he realized that the president's seal was underneath his feet.

"What the hell?" Grandddad asked himself, "I was just with Alicia Keys and now I'm the president? This must be some nice ass weed I purchased."

He then opened President Tailor's closet and put on the uniform, falling asleep. He was having a very nice dream too. He was riding in his favorite red car. It was sleek and shiny because he had just taken it to the car shop. Then, Alicia Keys , Beyonce, and Mariah Carey all walked towards his car. Their hair was beautiful, hanging down their back, and they leaned on the hood of his car wearing nothing but bikinis and heels. Granddad looked behind him. No rude ass grandchildren were in sight. He sighed deeply. This was the life.

He stepped out of the car with that swag? Swagger? Whatever those boys called it as he sat down next to between the three beautiful women. They all sang to him as they shook their humongous booties. He smiled at them, telling them how nice it was. He could die happily here, he thought as he shook his head to the music.

"Robert!" Mariah sang as she went super high, in a falsetto, "ROBBBBEEERRRT!"

"Damn, Mariah!" Granddad grimaced," Calm down."

"I'm sorry, Granddad," Mariah told him in a low, seductive tone, "I can't help myself."

"It's okay sweetie pie-"

"Grand-dad-aaadadada-daaaad," Beyonce sang with her powerhouse of a voice.

"Now see that was beautiful. If you didn't have ass, you could have been a great gospel singer, Beyonce," Granddad nodded his head as he spoke.

"Rooobbbeerrt! You and meee," Alicia had her piano as she threw her head back, her long hair cascading, "If you ask me I'm ready."

"Ohhh, I am ready Alicia, I am" He walked towards her.

"Granddad!" A familiar voice called out.

"Damn, those annoying ass grandkids of his are here," Mariah snapped as she abruptly stopped massaging Robert.

"What? Where are you going?" Granddad asked them.

"Back to Jay-Z," Beyonce snapped, "At least he had money without the kids."

"And you?" Granddad asked Mariah.

"Miss Nick Cannon is out!" Mariah said as she too walked away into the darkness.

"And I've got a baby to look after," Alicia told him as she walked away.

Granddad was all alone again. He looked up to the sky and felt cold. Dorothy was gone, and there weren't any grandchildren to bother the shit out of him. He thought that he always wanted to be alone. Robert thought that he could take the silence, but he couldn't. It was too quiet. It made you realize that you were in solitude. There was difference between being lonely and alone. And this made him feel, well, _alone_. He wanted another shot. He didn't want any of it anymore. He was tired of being grumpy all the time. He was tired of everybody hating him. He just wanted to wake up from a bad dream.

* * *

Huey could hear the snoring as he made it to the west wing. He had his machine gun with him as well as his katana, ready to beat anybody down who stood in his way. Jazmine and Riley were with him too, going to find Granddad. Now, they dropped their weapons, looking at a sleeping Granddad in the president's clothes. He was okay. Everything was fine. Huey looked over at Jazmine. Well, almost everything.

"Granddad!" Riley ran to him as he gave him a huge hug, "Yo gay ass is okay! I thought you was dead for a minute."

"Boy?" Granddad asked as he hugged Riley back for a millisecond, "Of course I'm fine."

"I'm just saying that I love you Granddad, alright? And I'm going to do better and school. Well, I'm not going to fail anymore. And I'm sorry, for everything." Riley told him as Huey and Jazmine stood with their mouths wide open.

"Boy you on that stuff? You actually talking like you have sense and stuff? Am I dreaming?" Granddad looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"No, you are not dreaming, Granddad," Riley smirked as he grinned at him, "But I did say I was gon talk like dis on the streets yo!"

"What streets?" Granddad asked Riley as he let out a breath of air. Riley not being Riley? That was just crazy. Somehow, he knew things would be different after the outing they just had, but nothing stayed the same, not even Riley.

Huey came towards him, and Granddad looked up expectantly. He already knew what Huey was going to ask him. Somehow, Granddad could just sense the dread lifted off of the White House. The feeling of unexpected shock ran through it. Granddad saw the way Huey looked at Jazmine. He saw the way that Jazmine looked at Huey. He had always known somehow that Shawn had killed his daughter in law. He held back the tears as he looked at Huey. He was so much like her sometimes. He missed Renae so much, and he knew Huey and Riley did too.

"Yes, boy?" Granddad asked him as all of this ran through his mind."

"I got this," Huey told him as he held up Renae's ring, handing to Granddad.

Robert handed it back, shaking his head, "You keep it."

Huey's eyes widened as he looked at Granddad, "But Granddad, you were always saying that if I ever found it, I should give it to you."

"That was when you were younger. I don't think you would have needed it then," Granddad told him as he looked at Jazmine, "Besides, I think you and I both know who really deserves it the most."

Huey walked towards Jazmine before turning around a smile on his face, "Thanks, Granddad."

"Whatever boy," Granddad shook his head, "Niggas wanna get all sappy and shit. Talk all proper. I want to take a goddamn nap!"

* * *

Jazmine Dubois looked at Huey. He had definitely grown up over the past few years. Well, he had always been wise beyond his years, but he had definitely matured. He stopped making silly jokes about her. And he took a little bit of time to be silly. Though it was rare when he did smile, Jazmine remembered a time when Huey never did. Jazmine wanted to believe that it was her doing. She had vowed to make him smile the day she saw him as a little girl. He looked so angry and mean, but she knew, even then, that he just needed a little love and attention. Jazmine shuddered. She may have given him too much, but it didn't matter. Somewhere deep inside, Jazmine knew that he hadn't minded. Well, he hadn't minded after he got used to her.

Huey walked towards her. His muscles clung to his shirt. He looked kind of cute like that. Jazmine grinned to herself as she met him halfway. They both stood there silently as everybody else looked on.

"Can you please leave?" Huey snapped.

"Oh my god! Honey now they're in there alone," Jazmine could hear her father in the halls.

"Tom, come on!" Sarah told him as she dragged him away from the two.

"So Jazmine," Huey began.

"Yeah?" She asked him, looking into his eyes.

He was doing it again. He was drowning in those eyes. He wouldn't tell her that though, "I want you to know something. Alright, you know how I'm always straight with you, right?"

Jazmine nodded as he mentally punched himself. Huey was definitely not good at this.

"Well, I, Jazmine, I, I, I,"

"You what?" Jazmine asked him, tapping her foot.

"I lo-"

"Hey! I think we found them!" A man called out with a candle in his hand.

Jazmine and Huey both spun around to face a whole group of fifty people with candles and posters of them. They all smiled at them, grinning.

"Thank yooouuuu laaaaawwwd jesus!" The big woman called out, "Jesus answers prayers! I told you that Tailor ain't shoot them!"

"Where's Cairo?" Somebody asked.

Soon, a whole group of people surrounded them, not knowing that they had just ruined a special moment for Huey and Jazmine. People wanted to talk them. Other people who just walked into the room gave them hugs that they didn't expect. In less than five minutes, about one thousand bodies fit into the White House that they had just been fighting in. Hardly anybody noticed the bodies on the ground or the bloodshed. They all noticed Huey and Jazmine. They even cheered for Tom when he walked in.

After the crowd got so bad that the whole crew couldn't breathe, Huey stood on top of the table as he commanded everybody outside of the building, and for the most part, they obliged. Huey shrugged at the ones who didn't. Why did his own race have to act so ignorant sometimes? No, why did Americans have to act so stupid? He somehow got them to stop complaining about the cold outside and pushed them outside with the crowd, the straggling moment ruiners. Huey grimaced in his head. He sounded so desperate.

"Come on Jazmine," He told her as he took her hand to go join Robert, Tom, Sarah, Riley, Cindy, and Michael.

"Wait!" Jazmine stopped in her tracks, "What were you going to tell me?"

Huey rolled his eyes, "I'll tell you later."

Then, they linked hands with everybody. Huey with Grandad, Riley with Grandad, and Jazmine with Cindy, and Robert with Sarah and Michael leading them all. They opened the door that lead them out in the first place, stepping onto some podium. The crowd was huge, they noticed. It spread all around them. News reporters were everywhere, pushing their way to the front, asking a thousand questions a minute. Huey released himself and began to walk towards the podium, but something made him stop. He didn't know if it was the ring in his pocket, or the memory of his parents, or even Granddad's weed that had gotten to him, but something had. He had a feeling that Riley should speak in front of them. He got the feeling that maybe Riley wanted to do it more than he did, which was fine with him. He wasn't exactly happy with some of the ignorant motions going on with the crowd anyways.

"Go on, Riley," He whispered as the crowd saw them and cheered, the roar loud.

"What?" Riley and the others hissed.

"Are you crazy? That boy made a nineteen on the ACT, Huey!" Granddad whispered in his air.

"I can't believe you bought that," Huey whispered in his ear, snorting, and "He actually got a 34, Granddad. He left the page up the other week."

"Boy, go up there!" Granddad told him, pushing Riley, who was still in shock, "Don't embarrass my ass in front of all these people and news reporters either."

It got quiet for a moment as everybody looked at Riley expectantly, their eyes wide. Nobody moved nor spoke. You could hear a pin drop as the silence cut through the whole area. Even the people in Chicago, watching in bars and at home, had stopped screaming at the revelation to see what the boy with the braids, Riley Freeman, had to say.

Riley wondered what his boys at home would think. This could ruin his street-cred. This would turn him into a dweeb or some shit. His reputation could get ruined. And what he feared the most? That people would see him differently. That was being a punk. Then, he realized, fearing what people thought of you? That made you a punk. Jumping a stupid nigga, though he was indeed stupid, was a punk move. Stealing shit and running? It was all a punk move, and Riley was done with all of it.

"I just fought, almost got killed, and you want to make a speech?" Riley grinned at the crowd, "You really want all of my energy huh?"

The crowd chuckled.

"I don't normally do speeches. Normally, my brother with the afro does this sort of things, but you don't really care about that. Do you? I am not a criminal. Neither are the people behind you. We've been watched for years. We have been evicted from our homes by force and without warning. The only reason we got out is due to common sense and knowledge. I've escaped death more times than I should have. We all have." Riley looked up towards the sky for a moment before continuing, "The people behind me have worked their butts off to protect you from the hands of Tailor, a dictatorship."

Huey's eyebrows rose. Riley did know about this stuff.

"You lie," A man from the crowd cried.

"I do not lie," Riley told the man, "Well, not this time. All I know is that we all risked our lives to protect you guys, and one boy, Cairo, didn't make it out."

Another gasp filled the air as people looked sad. Some even cried.

"He was a good man, and though his time was cut short," Riley looked at Jazmine, who had tears in her eyes, "We cannot and will not forget him. He had a legacy that was great, and you, the people, must maintain that legacy."

The crowd cheered.

"And whose fault is it that we elected, Tailor, the man who killed his own son?" A journalist asked Riley. The crowd gasped as murmurs filled the air and then silenced themselves.

"Anybody who voted for him," Riley shrugged as Huey smirked.

The crowd began to get angry, and that pissed Riley off. After all, he was still gangsta.

"Look. Here's the point. Here is the moral of the damn story. Stop electing these corrupt ass niggas into office that you know ain't about shit. Stop putting these people into office because you think they look good. Stop saying eenie meenie miny moe and picking a random person. Just stay at home if you're not going to research a dude before you place him in office. Then, maybe, stuff like this wouldn't happen," Riley told them as the crowd nodded in agreement.

"He's right," People murmured.

"Who knew that cussing some people out could help them?" Michael shook his head.

"I am not a hero. I'm just a man who stepped up and did what I had to do. I'm not special. Anybody could have done it with the correct mindset. I appreciate the love, the prayers, the tears, and even the words of hatred," Riley paused as he eyed the man who called him a liar, "It shows me that you really care. And though I do not know you by face or by name, I appreciate that you do care about me in some form. And don't start dancing and shaking booty when I leave, act like you have some decency about yourself, white or black."

"Wow," Tom whispered to Sarah, "He actually sounds decent."

Sarah nodded as she looked beyond them at Riley and the crowd around them.

"Anybody can kill. Anybody can speak. Anybody can fight, but not everybody can have heart. They have it," Riley motioned to his crew, "And Cairo had it. I'm proud of them all. And you should be too. Remember them. Remember this moment. Remember all of it. Don't go to sleep and say this was a dream. Get up and fix the mess that is America. Get up and do something about it. Have heart and perseverance in all that you do."

He looked at Huey as he nodded, encouraging him.

"A wise man once told me that people seeing you differently isn't so bad," Riley lifted his head towards the now silent crowd, the cameras, the flashing, "He was right. The same is true for this nation. We've got to change. Don't let Cairo's death go in vain. Don't let all those dead passengers who were killed after interrogation die in vain. Don't let anybody in those planes or my high school die in vain. We have to do better as a nation. As a people. So stop it. Stop denying that something is wrong. And start caring. Alright?"

The crowd murmured in approval.

"Don't forget any of this. This is not a dream. This is a reality, but it's not a sensible one. Let's put some sense back into our reality. Starting now," Riley looked back at the people behind him, "I know I will. Peace out."

The crowd gave Riley his standing ovation. Tom screamed as he realized that he had a Kodak miracle moment. Jazmine wiped the tears from her eyes. Granddad was fussing about some of the cuss words in Riley's speech, and Sarah was telling Tom to calm down. Even Huey felt overjoyed for some reason.

"Brooklyn, baby!" Caesar yelled out.

"BRRROOKKLLYYN!" Half the crowd yelled out.

The crew just shook their heads as they all looked at the scene before them, answering a few journalists' questions.

* * *

5 hours later…

It would take quite a while to rebuild the houses, so everybody was in a hotel. Huey and Jazmine were finally alone. Sarah and Tom were busy, rekindling. Cindy and Riley? Huey just didn't want to know. Michael was talking to some girl named Arielle downstairs, and now, Jazmine and Huey sat on his bed, talking.

"Huey?" Jazmine looked into Huey's eyes.

"Huh?" Huey asked her.

"What were you going to tell me?" Jazmine asked him.

_Come on, man. _Huey thought to himself.

"Jazmine, come here," He told her as she happily obliged. She lifted off of the bed and into his arms.

"Look. I'll cut to the chase here. Jazmine, I think you're a beautiful girl. I love how crazy you are and how cocky you are when it comes to believing you are in 'control'. And even though I hate how darn ignorant you can get, I guess it's one of those things that makes me realize something," Huey shrugged.

"And what would that be?" Jazmine said as her eyes did that sparkling thing that they only did around Huey.

"It makes me realize that I love you, Jazmine Dubois," He told her.

"I love you too!" Jazmine squealed as she tried to kiss Huey, but he stopped her.

"And as much as I love you, I can't be your boyfriend Jazmine," He told her.

"What? Why?" Jazmine looked wounded.

"Because," He told her as he got down on one knee, pulling out the sparkling golden ring, "I would rather be more than just your boyfriend. If that's alright with you, that is."

Jazmine didn't say anything. She was too shocked.

"So Jazmine," He looked up at her, giving her that now famous look,"Can I be your husband? I know we're young and all, but I can do this if you're in for the ride. I love you. I really do, and all you have to do is answer just one question. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Jazmine said hopping into his arms before he kissed her. Then, Jazmine was against the wall and Huey was deliberately kissing her to a rhythym. She was shuddering, and they began to grind. Jazmine threw her head back. If it was control Huey was aiming for, he could damn sure have it. She was glad that they were alone because she did not want to stop.

Huey did, however.

"What the hell?" Jazmine asked him.

Huey picked up the "Do Not Disturb Sign" and placed it on the door handle before locking the door. He then started kissing Jazmine.

"Wait," Jazmine breathed in between kisses, "Where's R.H and future me?"

"I think they're gone, Jazmine," He told her.

"But I wanted to say bye!" She wailed.

"I don't think we need them anymore," Huey grinned, "Besides, they're having more fun without us."

And with that, they continued kissing until finally, Jazmine and Huey ended up on the bed.

* * *

"Awwww, look at that!" Future Jazmine told a frowning R.H.

"Yeah, can we go now? This could get pretty awkward," R.H. rolled his eyes.

"I just wanted to see the goddamn proposal, Huey! But don't worry, we can go! But when we get home, we're not going to the bedroom."

"Wait, baby, I just wanted to be alone with you," R.H. was desperate. He hadn't seen her in about ten years, "And seeing us then, it kind of makes me want you now."

"You mean?" A sly Jazmine from the future grinned with lust filled eyes.

"Let's go," He told them as he smiled at his wife, "I've missed you so much."

"You'd better be glad I was there, or I wouldn't be here. I knew I should have gone the first year. Then we could have done more productive stuff like-"

"Jazmine, you're right. You saved yourself from dying again. Now, can we go?" R.H. asked as he stepped onto the time machine on the hotel balcony.

"I guess," She said as R.H. pushed a button that sent them hurdling through space.

"Did you hear something, Huey?" A half dressed Jazmine murmured.

"Nope, nothing at all," He told her.

"Merry Christmas, Huey," Jazmine whispered.

"Merry Christmas," He told her not bothering to tell her about paganism. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her. They had forever to do all that.

* * *

Hahaha..the end?

And yes, there shall be an epilogue!

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Review and tell me! I mean daaang! It's over!

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GreatReview3/Paige1292, Cruella de Chelle, natalie0123, and revolutionary in the making..

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And bye?


	17. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

* * *

_Year 2032_

_Huey and Jazmine had been married for five years. Jazmine ended up becoming a veterinarian and Huey ended up being a government official of Woodcrest. They were also recognized in front of the world as young people with a cause. Actually, everybody in our crew were many ceremonies made after them. They also had two children, Jamie and Camille, two girls. Apparently, something caused Jazmine's "son" to change in the present, but Huey didn't mind. He loved them anyway. Even if they had a habit of getting into everything at age three, now, Huey enjoyed watching them._

_Riley and Cindy were still going strong too. Riley actually did end up going to law school. He was in his first year. He was also thinking about asking Cindy to marry him. Too bad he just didn't know how. After returning to Woodcrest after their houses were rebuilt, he ended up graduating as number nine out of his class by some miracle. He changed his whole perception. For some reason, he was not jumped by his gang banging homies for leaving._

_Tom and Sarah are still Tom and Sarah. _

_Michael Caesar ended up marrying the girl he met in the hotel the day that we saved America and democracy. Now, he was a well known governor in New York. They called him a nickname that Huey believed fit him well, the Brooklyn man._

_Granddad is still alive. He still wants big booty hoes. He also works out on infomercials and passes out. He talks to Huey and Riley almost every day. Well, when he's not high, they talk._

_Cairo's body was shipped back to Chicago. His funeral was in January 2022. Many people attended and memorials were built worldwide in his image. He is also known as a national hero._

_The White House was torn down as a symbol of reform from our old path. Today, the president works from an official president building. Micheal, Jazmine, Cindy, Riley, and Huey, of course, were still watching things. After all, you could never be too sure._

_And everybody was happy with the way that everything turned out. No more crazy antics or anything._

"_Daddy?" Camille, Huey's oldest daughter asked._

"_Yes?" I rose my eyebrow at her._

_She raised it back at me, looking like eight year old Jazmine with a scowl, "Why are you talking about yourself in third person?"_

"_You wouldn't understand," I shook my head._

"_If you told me, I would," Camille pouted._

_Huey ignored her._

"_Nobody ever listens to me," Camille complained as she heard her five year old sister Jamie turn on Disney Channel, "No, Jamie, don't you dare! That stuff only drains your brain! Do you want to be stupid?"_

"_Uncle Riley says that's a hater move, Camille," Jamie chuckled._

"_Daddy said that Uncle Riley isn't always right!" Camille argued._

_I held back a chuckle. They did act like Riley and I when we were younger, "Let it go, Camille. I'm pretty sure it won't kill her, but change it after about an hour okay?"_

"_Fine, she pouted as she walked away._

_I sat by myself as I wondered. Why was I talking about myself in third person?_

_I shook it off before sending Jamie and Camille outside to play and walking into the bedroom that held my wife._

"_Hello," Jazmine told me as she hugged me with her new curves. Thank you Jamie and Camille._

"_Hey," I told her as I plopped down on our bed._

"_Where are the kids?" She asked as I kissed her._

"_Outside," I told her as I grinned against her lips._

"_Oh," She said as I bit her ear, "Well, that's good."_

"_Yeah," I told her as I locked the door, "Very, no interruptions."_

"_Well, that's good." She told me, "Because-"_

"_Jazmine?" I looked at her._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Remember what I told you to do on our second kiss?" I looked at her, wanting to ravish her._

"_Shut-up?" She asked._

"_Well then, do it…" I told her before attaching my lips to hers._

_Some things never changed. _

* * *

**_So…the end! Hahaha! Quick huh? I updated twice! Yes! And it's over.. :/_**

**_So Miss Ace? New Story up?_**

****

_Haha yep! Here's the preview:_

Hi, My Name is Trouble

* * *

_I looked good. I knew I did. Everybody loved me, and everybody wanted me. Not that it mattered. The people who I really loved the most? I had turned my back against them for a title. I wasn't even sure if I wanted it anymore. Now, it all seemed so superficial and shallow. Something jumped inside of me. That stupid little voice had decided to voice its precious opinions once again, and I couldn't argue with it. I feel bad for even thinking it's stupid sometimes. Because deep down, I know it's right._

_People want popularity. They don't understand the sacrifices that we make to impress a crowd. All the things we do? All the things we are? Each and every one of us has had to give up something to become the talk of the school. It isn't easy, but to me, it's worth it. Sounds extreme, I know, but that's just the way it is. After all, one day I was just Jazmine Dubois. Now, I'm The Jazmine Dubois._

_Everybody thinks they know me. People watch me walk into a room and fidget under my gaze. I can wear sweat pants from the dumpster, and somehow, everybody would find them. People talk about me too. Surprisingly, I don't care. I know all of the rumors. I know that I supposedly cheated on my boyfriend of two years, Kevin Bryce. They say that I fucked the principal to earn my number one spot in our class. They say my hair isn't real, but it is. And I know that I supposedly made out with Cindy McPhearson in the restroom. Not that it would happen. We don't talk anymore. We haven't for three whole years, now. I don't want to think about it. Let's just say that she was better off where she is. And no, she's not dead. It's just…things change._

_That reminds me of him. I remember the days that I used to follow him around like a lost puppy. And now that I'm older, we barely talk. That hurts the most. He's one of my biggest regrets, and I'm one of his. He told me so once. His name is Huey Freeman if you already haven't guessed. Once upon a time, I used to have the biggest crush on him. I knew he would be great one day. I still do know that he's going to be a great man. After all, he's more of a man than every boy here- including Kevin Bryce. But I can't associate with him. And Huey? I know that he wouldn't even bother to speak to me now. Not after what I did to him. He's cute now too. Girls swoon over him, but if he's anything like I remember, he doesn't care. Plus, he has a girlfriend now. Her name is Arielle. She is most definitely- different._

_I miss them. My friends, I mean. Not these fake ass wannabees I'm sitting around. Huey, Riley, Cindy and Michael? They were real. They told me how it was and how it wasn't. I could purposely come to the school looking awful and this clique would tell me how great it was. Not my old crew. Somebody would have busted me out. I want to tell the people at my table this as we smile and look happy. We're not even eating lunch. That's not acceptable. I roll my eyes at my growling stomach. It's obviously not happy with this, but I ignore it, clicking my new heels that Daddy bought me. _

_We're the Gossip Girl of John Edgar High School. We're just better. No, we don't go to balls and have somebody text messaging us with all the crazy secrets. That's how people get seriously hurt. And under no circumstances will you see us sport those crazy headbands, no matter how gorgeous some of them may be. Nobody needs to pass the torch along to us to know who's the boss. The queen is the queen, and everybody knows her. Her name is Tasha. Tasha Fight. Her name sounds like she means business. And me? I'm supposedly the princess, the next girl in line for the queenly throne, but not without Tasha's approval. I feel eyes on me, so I look up expectantly. It's not Tasha. It's Huey, and he looks really upset. I wonder what's wrong. He notices me, and his gaze hardens. I look away, not blaming him. I'm a monster. I'm a beautiful monster that destroys everything I touch. I know I deserve it._

_And honestly, it's better if he stays away from me. I wouldn't kill them physically or even emotionally, but now that we're juniors, these desperate broads would do anything to take my spot as the potential diva of John Edgar High. My old crew is an easy target. And I can't let them hit the bullseye. _

"_Jazmine?" Tasha asks._

_I look up expectantly from the mirror in my usual seat by the cafeteria's window I've had since the ninth grade. Tasha has a smirk on her face. I wonder what she's thinking._

"_Yeah?" I reply._

"_You're in my seat." She tells me._


End file.
